Rose and Fang
by Buddhacide
Summary: London, 1902. Yumi is a sweet, kind vampire who lives with a proud huntress of the undead, the Chinensis guild's Red Rose. Along with the White and Yellow guilds, they protect London from hidden terrors of the night. This story is about their life together in an AU of gothic fantasy. A dark spin on the Marimite mythos in the age of the British Empire.
1. Number 9, Lilyston Square

**ROSE AND FANG  
**

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A/N: Hi and thanks for checking out this new AU! Please let me know if it's too similar to other stories about vampires and I'll take it down… because I know vampires were already popular before He-Who-Sparkles, and after He-Who-Sparkles it's hard for the poor monsters to be original at all. This arose out of my own dissatisfaction with the amount of Yumi x Sachiko in a previous AU story I wrote: there just wasn't quite enough, and I wanted to make up for it. So this time I thought I'd try a truly Chinensis-centric fic.

First some disclaimers: _Rose and Fang_ is not based on the timeline of Marimite's anime seasons. This puts the soeurs in some "what-if" situations, leading to different paths of interaction and dynamics that occur at unfamiliar points, placing them later, earlier, or differently than the canon. For example, what if the Roses of S1 (Youko, Eriko, Sei) continued to play an important part even after they stepped down? Also, this story obviously isn't intended to condone or glamorize the wrongdoings or crimes of any historical period. Its only objective is to indulge our fangirlism/fanboyism and our love for Marimite. :P

So if this story's synopsis and AU interests you, please R&R but most importantly enjoy.

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**Chapter 1**

**Number 9, Lilyston Square**

She used to place her pretty arms about my neck, draw me to her, and laying her cheek to mine, murmur with her lips near my ear, "Dearest, your little heart is wounded; think me not cruel because I obey the irresistible law of my strength and weakness; if your dear heart is wounded, my wild heart bleeds with yours. In the rapture of my enormous humiliation I live in your warm life, and you shall die – die, sweetly die – into mine…"

– _Carmilla_, "Her Habits – A Saunter"

* * *

_March, 1902_

The unit of Number 9, Lilyston Square was not especially large. But nor was it small. Indeed, it had a very spacious drawing room, along with a single bedroom filled with chinoiserie drawers, cupboards, mirrors and crockery imported from France. Despite their often-inaccurate portrayals of how the Japanese lived, the items were of good value and admirable craftsmanship. The house wasn't meant for a family to reside in, yet it was blessed with a very homely aura, which was desperately needed in the cold, often wet winter of south England. In that warm drawing room, amongst a crackling fireplace and shelves of well-worn and well-loved books and volumes in different languages, a Japanese adolescent with pigtails awaited her guardian, dressed in a simple beige blouse. She kicked her skinny feet just above the wooden floor and rug. It was a full moon tonight, and the stars shone above their borough. More strikingly, she wore a necklace from which the pendant of a crucifix dangled. That crucifix was a memento from the most important human being in her life; one who was vastly different to her in so many ways yet remained the centre of her world.

"Yumi."

Stepping out from the corridor that led to the bedroom was a taller girl, her beautiful face checked by a cool, almost cold façade that kept unworthy and undeserving interactions at a distance. Despite being undeniably feminine and beautifully, gracefully womanly, the eighteen-year-old vampire huntress preferred to wear conservative, tight, concealing outfits that protected her from unwelcome glances and leers – a European's garments, adapted just for her. A spotless white shirt with a frilled collar and sleeves lent her an aristocrat's air. Tight white trousers hugged by tall, black boots evoked equestrian luxury. A slender, double-breasted tailcoat hugged her cobalt vest, enhancing its wearer's form and silhouette. Affixed to her tailcoat's left breast pocket was the brooch of a red rose. It was the emblem of the Chinensis guild, founded in secret with the Foetida and Gigantea guilds at Tokyo's elite Lillian College.

"Onee-sama," breathed Fukusawa Yumi, staring at Ogasawara Sachiko's long, raven hair.

This was the era when the Imperial Japanese juggernaut thundered across Asia, and when the British Empire reached across and created entire nation-states. But there was an even greater force behind the cannons and guns, the propagandists and politicians. That force sat right here, in Sachiko's drawing room.

Yumi's eyes widened briefly before she cast her head down. It was as if she didn't deserve to see Rosa Chinensis in such a dashing suit. "You and I dress so differently it's like oil and water, Sachiko-sama."

"If it's any comfort, it's because I have a job to do in this awful weather," said the distant senior. "That's why I'm dressed up, while you're enjoying a night in reading. And how many times have I insisted that you call me onee-sama? It will help me forget how different you are to me."

The gorgeous but aloof hunter flicked back loose strands of her stunningly night-black tresses, a rarity in the English capital. "My grande soeur, Youko-sama, accompanied Viscount Hayashi-sama to sign the pact between our nation and the British two months ago. As far as the world is concerned, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance is simply to consolidate our mutual economic interests in our colonies and territories. But the secret clause in this treaty states that the Chinensis guild must stay in London to protect its people from the night's horrors." She sighed. "To languish here another year! Onee-sama must be glad to sail back to Kyoto. I want to go home too, but it's painful to anticipate another tedious, exhausting trip on those ugly steamships with horrible sailors trying to slobber over the native English ladies and me. Pigs don't discriminate. Bloodsucking monsters suddenly don't seem as deserving of my sword as those men."

Yumi giggled at the indignant tone, and it was her open mouth and smile that best reminded Sachiko of the former's frightening, literal lack of humanity: a pair of glimmering, growing fangs in place of human teeth. The gleam of those stark, otherworldly canines danced in the firelight. They admittedly looked adorable on sweet Yumi, although Sachiko knew well she was supposed to have slain her long ago, and not kept her under her roof like some adopted child or stray pet. Perhaps it was because the younger girl knew how to flatter her. "You look so gallant in men's clothes, onee-sama."

Sachiko nodded, as if the compliment was her natural right. "It's a habit I picked up while living here. The garments go well with _that_, don't you agree?" Yumi looked at the dark, elegant cane that rested in a tall holder with two folded umbrellas near the door. But she knew that it was really a cane sword, a disguise that concealed a deadly blade. Its handle resembled that of an ornate, rose-shaped grip, but beyond that there was no hint that it was actually the hilt of an anti-vampire weapon. "The metal of my sword, _Flower Stalk_ – forged with silver, blessed by a Dutch clergyman at the ports, and for good measure, consecrated with a Buddhist mantra by Shimako's father." Sachiko paused at Yumi's puzzled expression. "Oh yes. You don't know Shimako or her family, do you? Her father is the head priest of Shoguuji temple. I thought it would be best to err on the side of caution, in case Catholic prayers aren't as strong as the missionaries claim."

Both vampire and human could sense it. The world was changing at breakneck speed. History was in the making, for better or for worse. But the greatest threats to humanity would remain unseen, as they had always been since time immemorial.

"You'll meet the members of the Gigantea guild and the Foetida soeurs soon enough. They've been recruited by the British Crown and called to London as part of the treaty's conditions. Even I don't know when they'll be arriving. _Tennou Heika_ is keeping all undead affairs with the Anglican Church an absolute secret." Sachiko shrugged, sliding open a drawer near one of the dark brown bookshelves and retrieving her revolver, _Vermillion_. She would need those Macedonian silver bullets Youko-sama promised her. "I don't even know why I trust you with such sensitive diplomatic secrets."

Yumi laughed nervously. Although Japan's ruler was known to all as Emperor Meiji, his subjects were not to refer to him except by his regnant presence: _Tennou Heika_, holder of the most ancient royal lineage in the world, the House of Yamato. "Do you think the other Roses… will accept me?"

"I don't know. And I'm not sure if I should let Rei and Shimako know that you live under my roof." Standing across from the door, Sachiko kept her eyes locked on Yumi's. "Your power and thirst grows with each passing week. I should kill you – or at least, that's what they would tell me. And that is what my own onee-sama told me too; until I convinced her you wouldn't hinder my contracts here. That you wouldn't get in the way." The Red Rose paused. "I suspect there will be competition between our guilds, but at least the English capital won't be depending on me alone."

Sachiko looked at her unusual responsibility with an expectant expression. Yumi smiled dumbly, and several silent seconds passed before Sachiko lost patience.

"Do I need to be more obvious, Yumi?" cried the imperious huntress in embarrassed frustration. "Come and get your evening meal, you clueless vampiress!"

The mortified Yumi jumped and leaped off the couch, scurrying over to her grande soeur. The taller girl looked down at her witheringly.

"_Gomenasai,_ onee-sama," squeaked the fledgling bloodsucker.

"Honestly," tutted Sachiko, pulling back her white sleeve and drawing a sharp, crucifix-shaped dagger that had been strapped to her belt. "Sometimes I question my own sanity, keeping you under my roof. When you were human, you surely never forgot to have breakfast. What excuse do you have to forget our nightly ritual now? Are you so dense to forget that you do this to me all the time?"

Yumi laughed sadly, and her bittersweet smile wasn't wide enough to expose her fangs. "I didn't have enough money for breakfast when I was human. When I did, it was because I stole."

Sachiko let out a quiet sigh but didn't say anything else. That was her own way of acknowledging her mistake of assuming that a former beggar girl from her native Japan, wandering the slums of Shoreditch and Camden, could have afforded bread and fruit like the merchants, statesmen and royal servants of central London. Rosa Chinensis raised her dagger, lifting her forefinger and middle finger. She gazed at the two red scars already on them, and carefully slit them again with the clean, sharp blade. She winced as fresh blood emerged, and Yumi's heartbeat began to grow louder. "You're reopening that wound all the time now," mumbled Yumi, her voice suddenly slurred. She couldn't sound guilty even if she wanted to. Her eyes slowly widened, like a child glimpsing candy. Slowly, their brown hue began to transmute into a sinister crimson colour, so deep and raw that it matched the pigment of Sachiko's blood.

"I take good care of these marks, these cuts. Thanks to your need for sustenance they sting perpetually. But it doesn't bother me since you don't wish to kill humans." Sachiko's blood – the fluid that animated her organs and imbued her with life – was slowly slipping down her fingers, past her knuckles and hand, and the occasional droplet was already dashing the floorboards. "Hurry now. Before I make a mess. You haven't had dinner yet, so you must be hungry."

She reached for Yumi, staring at the vampire's pink lips. She felt herself on the verge of blushing.

It was time to feed.

Yumi began to pant quietly as a primordial, natural desire arose in her chest. "I… _itadakimasu_."

Unaware of the sensual, affectionate expression on her face, she drew near, her mouth wrapping itself around Sachiko. Her tongue dampened Sachiko's finger and her cuts, before soaking them in unholy moisture. She inhaled deeply at the taste of genuine life, and began to suck. That sucking soon became an indulgent slurp, and her saliva was soon at one with the vampire hunter's vermillion fluid. "Slowly. Take your time," said Sachiko quietly, as Yumi gulped and swallowed her ambrosia gluttonously. She was well aware of the erotic tension engulfing their hearts. It was always like this, every single night. "I know you're hungry. But don't get carried away and bite me, or I will be a very upset vampire."

"Mmm." Yumi nodded obediently and continued to suck ravenously, her trembling hands clasping her human mistress's slender forearm. But how she wanted to sink her teeth into that pale, exquisite flesh. Sachiko suppressed a grunt from her own throat as she tried to focus. The room and its mahogany environs briefly faded and blurred. Her decorum struggled against the natural honesty that guilty pleasure brings. Was her fluid really so delicious that Yumi must take away so much, leaving her slightly faint? Sachiko's eyes widened as Yumi's hands released her forearm and reached for her back. The loose blouse of the vampire pressed against Sachiko's suit, and the undead creature pulled at the human girl's shoulders insistently.

"How dare you." Having lost control and her senses in the overpowering sensation of Yumi's skin, a despairing Sachiko gazed helplessly into her vampiric ward's crimson irises. Her vulnerable, fluttering eyes could do nothing to signal Yumi to stop, let alone reproach her. How the latter's brown pigtails ruined the whole image of a thirsty, wicked Nosferatu! But she was indeed audacious, for she had now reached up, her lips aiming directly for Sachiko's pulsing neck. She slowly stood on tiptoes, opening wide her mouth. An eerie mist issued from Yumi's throat, and the fangs bared themselves to feast on something warm-blooded.

To feast on this human grande soeur whom she loved so…

"Onee-sama," moaned Yumi in an anxious warning, her necromantic breath warming Sachiko's addictive flesh. She was surprised her mind could still retain some rationality, some reasoning. And she reasoned correctly that Sachiko was in grave danger. "If you can't resist anymore, you must push me away, or even…"

The Red Rose could not help but chuckle quietly at the idea that she could somehow muster the strength to push Yumi away. Her strength was still that of a human girl's and no match for a vampire's physical power. The helplessness, the powerlessness to break free from her petite soeur's far stronger grip – it brought incredibly strange feelings, warmed her most intimate hearth, aroused her beyond words. Every night she had to feed her, she was subjected to an overwhelming assault on her senses, leaving her in genuine peril of surrendering to Yumi's innocent, unnatural charm. It would be so much easier to just give up and become Yumi's slave, but the voracious bloodsucker was right. Any further and she could lose everything. Any more and Yumi's physical and supernatural power could rob her of her life's calling. "For goodness's sake. Do not tempt me into letting myself go…" Sachiko gasped as Yumi's lips massaged her neckline, the collarbone, and the vessels that pumped the currency of life through her. Her knees felt unstable as she moaned weakly. "Don't compel… me… letting myself…"

Yumi groaned softly again, her childish fangs at their full extent. _I'm sorry_ was what she desperately wanted to say. But all she could manage was a sigh. She pressed her lips together and shifted forward. She gave a little nibble, and then a gentle lick, dampening Sachiko's perfect skin. Her eyes shut tight, Sachiko jolted and let out a soft exclamation of thrilled surprise. A kiss, a sweet, loving kiss from Yumi, and her own, trembling hand clutched the back of her petite soeur's head. But to each other's surprise, Yumi finally managed to withdraw her fangs with uncanny effort, by closing her eyes and pressing her clammy forehead against Sachiko's breasts. Yumi closed her eyes, regaining her breath frantically. Her fingers pulled agitatedly at Sachiko's sleeve, and the crackling from the burning wood in the hearth grew louder in the silence.

"I'm so sorry, onee-sama."

"You're a handful, that's what you are," whispered Sachiko fondly, her hand moving up Yumi's face. The vampire shut her eyelids tightly, so that her supernatural senses could relish the soft caress of her human mistress. With every gentle stroke along the tips of her tresses, Yumi had to suppress a shudder. Sachiko had also just recovered, and it was evident that Yumi's touch reverberated through her racing heart too. "That night… if only I had come earlier. Then you wouldn't have suffered that unholy creature's bite. You would have been safe, and free from the compulsion to drink."

"It's not so bad like this," murmured Yumi, her voice muffled by Sachiko's clothes, her body warmth. "Even if you're only caring for me because you feel guilty, I'm glad to be yours."

"It's not because of guilt that I chose to keep you, and you shouldn't feel anything of the sort for being with me." Sachiko gazed into her bouton's unholy, adoring eyes. "I will do my utmost to resist your bite… but if you don't feel shortchanged, you have the option of making do with a kiss."

Yumi giggled coyly and reached up for her beloved. Before the doting Sachiko could even coo, the vampire's lips met her human soeur's, and the pair closed their eyes in passionate respect. Sachiko cradled Yumi in her arms, hands around her waist, as Yumi gripped the other's back. For some reason, a gentle piano and flute could be heard in the distant night as they held each other for a while.

They remained in tender union until Sachiko broke the quiet peace. "A splendid dinner, wasn't it? To suck and nibble me." She released Yumi after stroking her for several minutes, and bandaged her moist fingers with a new set of bandages in her coat pocket. She walked towards the door and retrieved her sword cane. "It's witching hour. The night is still young. Or you could say it's just begun," said the incumbent Red Rose, tapping her sheathed weapon lightly on the wooden floor. "I have money to make so we can pay the rent, Yumi."

"I'll come with you. I can help," said Yumi eagerly, adjusting the fabric that didn't really hide her flushed skin. "I don't mind hurting other vampires for you, onee-sama."

Sachiko shook her head. "No. My client today is a nun. She is bound by her vocation to report you to her diocese. I don't want you to be detected or hunted so easily. I promised to protect and nurture you, but while I'm good at my work, I'm only one woman against the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha."

She smiled and shrugged mildly. "And why am I making enemies out of my fellow vampire hunters? Look at what you've done to me, Yumi. I've become your thrall. For your sake, I've already fallen."

Yumi had to be grateful for the lengths to which Sachiko went to keep her safe. "Thank you… thank you for looking after me like this, onee-sama. It just makes me feel all the guiltier."

"Enough with the remorse. Stay here. Stay here at this home of mine, to welcome me back. That is gratitude enough for tonight." Sachiko adjusted her frilled collar. "Forgive me, Yumi. I will be killing more of your kin tonight."

And with that, the old door creaked and closed behind Sachiko, leaving her vampire soeur to endure a restless night by herself.

* * *

_One year ago, 1901. Lansdowne Estate_

The tip of Sachiko's cane found the last step of the manor entrance, tapping the stone haughtily. "Thank you for the dinner, Lord Lansdowne. I truly enjoyed the roast pork belly and Norfolk apples. We had a productive evening." Rosa Chinensis en bouton still didn't condescend to meet the eyes of Great Britain's foreign secretary. He was but a man, and therefore didn't deserve even a glance. Her tailcoat fluttered in the evening summer breeze. "I would have you know that our headmistress at Lillian College is pleased that you managed to finalize our treaty with Viscount Hayashi-sama, even though its investiture has been delayed until early next year," she said in good English, with a slight Tokyo accent.

"Of course. Yet you must remember, Miss Ogasawara. This remains a secret between Lillian's three guilds and the Crown. Between Great Britain and Japan!" emphasized the minister, garbed in a brown vest wrapped around his stomach. He stroked his moustached chin as he waved for his warden to drive up to the Japanese guest. "I trust you understand the magnitude of what has passed between our nations. Thanks to the cooperation between us, we are not only about to consolidate our hold over our colonies. The extinction of the vampire race is also imminent."

"Of course. And we will bear witness to that day when two empires united to extinguish the undead flame forever," replied Sachiko frostily. "Goodnight to you, Lord Lansdowne."

She made her way into the waiting automobile, laying aside Flower Stalk and making herself comfortable on its cushioned seat. She nodded curtly at her host, who would be remembered as a key architect of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Lansdowne stepped back and watched his warden press the pedal and escort Sachiko back to London. He drove at an even pace, amongst the endless private countryside. "I hope you will enjoy your stay in London, Rosa Chinensis en bouton," offered the elderly driver, his gloved hands lightly on the wheel. His friendly eyes glimmered. "Please let Lord Lansdowne know if there needs to be further arrangements between Tokyo Lillian College and the Foreign Ministry. We will protect the secrets of the hunter guilds in every way possible."

"Thank you, Mr. Lockhart. I'm afraid the guilds, and therefore my own person, must submit to the authority of Lillian College's headmistress. We are simply agents in your country, here to fulfill a clause in the treaty between Lord Lansdowne and Viscount Hayashi-sama. Anyone can see the threats to our colonies and territories. The dangers our three guilds deal with lurk in the unseen corners of the night."

"My deepest apologies, Miss Ogasawara. I will be certain to remind my Honoured Sir to keep in close contact with your country's representatives."

_What miracles and abominations are in store for us in this age, I wonder?_ thought the bouton to herself._ What sins will we commit? And what sins will be committed against us? Will I live long enough to see them? Will I regret them? Will I be able to make peace with them_?

For some reason, a melancholy sentiment rose within her. To think there were ninety-nine years to go before she could see the new millennia, when perhaps the world would have moved on from the ideals of colonialism and expansionism, exploitation and tyranny… Or would it? Uninterested in the seemingly unending rows of oak trees that flanked the long and lonely road, the Red bouton allowed her eyelids to fall. She felt herself quietly nodding off after about an hour, and by the time she opened her misty eyes she could glimpse the church spire of Westminster Cathedral in the distance.

Was she back in the capital already? A pity – she had enjoyed the quiet, peaceful ride, and it was now pitch-black, darker than the shades of deep blue that had blanketed Lansdowne's home. She retrieved her cane sword, resisting the urge to rub her eyes and yawn. "Miss Ogasawara," said her escort politely. "Shall I drive you to your apartment?"

"Thank you," said Sachiko. "I would prefer that you didn't. In fact, let me alight here. I have business to attend to."

"But it's raining."

Sachiko paused, listening. Light, pleasant patters were dashing the car's bonnet and roof, and the air was more humid than usual. The flagstones and their niches were already damp and running with water. But a light shower could not put her off her task now. "Good night to you, Mr. Lockhart. But I will take my leave now." As she stepped out of Lansdowne's car, she took out a gilded compass from her breast pocket. Its red-tipped point swung north – and north indicated wherever there were vampires. _Camden borough? The location is quite central_. She pursed her lips and strode away from the vehicle, her mind completely focused on the hunt before her. She heard the car drive away into the lane where it can come from, and she discreetly made a turn into a back alley, where there was no one to see her. She quickened her pace as she entered an ever-present, uglier face of London, two rows of dark, poverty-stricken apartment buildings looming over her. The dim lamps hanging by the walls were rare. Two, three, five, ten minutes. Her legs broke into a brisk walk, and then into a light run. The moon shone above her as the rain gathered further and began to drench the cityscape. True to her honed instincts, she could hear a high-pitched, female scream shatter the rainy night, and she sprinted around a corner, turning left once, then right, then right again, her boots splashing carelessly into several shallow puddles that had gathered on the cobblestone path –

Squeaking, dirty rats fled the alleyway as Sachiko's eyes fell on a slobbering figure, whose clawed hand had clamped over the mouth of a terrified, struggling girl. The girl herself was in soaked rags, grey clothes indistinguishable from worn out tablecloths. Her dirty, skinny bare legs thrashed and kicked at the tall undead, to no avail. But that was not the most worrying thing. The vampire lich had sunk his teeth into the screaming girl's jugular, and was sucking ravenously as the other flailed wildly, weakening by the heartbeat. The lich's rotting face twisted into a grin as he lifted his head, gasping in satisfaction. The human girl's blood tickled down his maggoty lip and chin, and he hurled the shaking girl aside, slamming her painfully against the brick wall.

The bald vampire cackled, his naked body rippling with lean muscle. His crimson eyes danced in sadistic gratification. "You're too late, huntress. My power has seeped into her, its vampirism making her into my daughter."

"Girl!" shouted Sachiko, tucking her compass back into her coat and her grip tightening on her cane sword's hilt. Her gaze met the petrified victim's, and from one glance in the dark it was enough to tell. "You're Japanese," blurted Sachiko, temporarily stunned and caught off-guard. The trembling girl crawled back up, hugging herself as she stared back down at the ground, silenced and broken. Her neck's bite marks were still bleeding, but to her own surprise Sachiko noticed first her matted, dyed brown hair, which spilled down her small shoulders. Her teardrops, her quivering lips, and her devastated face expressed one single plea.

_Don't leave me as I am now_.

"Please, good Miss!" screamed the girl suddenly, who was slumped on her knees. "There's nothing you can do. Run! It's too late for me… I…" She clutched at her throat, gasping in bewildered pain as her wide eyes began to change. Her brown eyes were turning into a sickly yellow colour, before transmuting into the signature red that characterized a fully turned vampire. There was still some chestnut hue, but the infusion of unholy power was complete. More tears flowed from her new eyes as she began to blubber, frothing slightly at the mouth. She wailed and howled in helpless despair, and from her open mouth and bleeding gums Sachiko could glimpse her canines growing at a bizarre, unnatural speed, sharpening and lengthening –

"It's too late," affirmed the wicked lich, his abnormally long fingers cracking as he flexed his formidable arms. "You were abandoned to begin with, here on these soiled streets. Why should you expect anything more with me? Now you will be my slave, in every way I see fit – "

"_Silence, vermin! _No words for the dead."

The vampire and the weeping, bleeding girl stopped in shock as Sachiko broke in, her icy voice chilling the already cool air. Her flowing dark hair dashed with rainwater and dew, the huntress slowly raised her cane to eye level and drew Flower Stalk, her cold irises flashing furiously. The emerging blade's gleam outshone even the moon.

"Ogasawara Sachiko, Rosa Chinensis en bouton. You will die, bloodsucker. Free of charge."

* * *

_So I'm a monster now… or that's what everyone will say_.

_What am I going to do? What's going to become of me_? That was all Fukusawa Yumi, this abandoned shipyard girl, could think of. Well, not only that. The words of the beautiful, cold girl echoed in her head: _Ogasawara Sachiko, Rosa Chinensis en bouton_. But what did Rosa Chinensis en bouton mean? It sounded French… but she couldn't worry about that now. The lich had summoned a battalion of horrific, undead slaves – ghouls – and they leaped from the rooftops, slamming into the ground and shambling toward Sachiko. Their murky eyes were glowing hungrily. They wore nothing except filthy rags, and they still had clumps of brown and blond hair on their heads – no doubt these were simple workers who once lived around here, toiling, talking, and laughing with each other. Now they were nothing more than pieces of meat animated by infernal forces.

But the newcomer – Yumi's savior – was eviscerating the ghouls already, her rage unmatched even by the devils of old legend. She spun and twirled and riposted with a meticulous yet effortless elegance, gutting three ghouls before sending another four collapsing to the ground with a flurry of holy bullets. Four loud gunshots echoed amidst the glimmering stars. Yumi stared in awe as Sachiko's hand revealed the weapon that had fired the bullets – a revolver with a long silver barrel, its grip dyed with red satin… Vermillion. The lich himself stepped back in shock, his glowing eyes betraying his astonishment and uncertainty as the tall and very finely dressed girl tore through his gang of undead with a visible, physical vengeance that bordered on the twisted. Blood spurted and dashed the walls of the alley, mixing with the rain that was descending on the city. Pivoting her wet, slender body, Sachiko spun her sword deftly, swinging it in an overhead arc and reducing seven more in the zombie mob to ribbons of flesh, tissue and putrid cartilage. Through the thinning crowd, her stern eyes met Yumi's wide, red irises, and for a moment, Yumi could only watch the dew slipping from her rescuer's long eyelashes. Then that moment was over, and Sachiko was spinning again with the grace of a ballerina, a whirling maelstrom, hacking and dicing and lacerating past the arms that reached for her, flowing hair struggling to catch up behind her. Body parts flew and bashed against the walls like chopped meat from a violent grinder. She thrust behind her, impaling another ghoul and slashed horizontally, cutting her blade through two more that tried to grab her. Almost as one, the ghouls fell helplessly before her almost frenzied swordplay, flooding the alleyway with a sea of bodies, filling it with a horrible graveyard – for those who had died a second death. Red gore was pouring from Sachiko's sword as she wrenched it from a ghoul's twitching chest, pointing it at the glaring lich.

The male vampire spat in hatred and fear. Rain dashed his slimy countenance. "How could you assume to match the power of the immortals? Of the gods? I am immortal! You are but human!"

Sachiko didn't answer, the icy fire in her eyes scorching and etching itself into Yumi's soul. She raised her revolver and fired, and the lich managed to vanish into mist, before reforming behind the alert Sachiko. He swiped, thinking he had taken her by surprise, but Sachiko was prepared. She rolled away, her coat sweeping up droplets of clear rain, and spun around, firing several bullets into the lich's torso. He reeled, coughing blood as Sachiko advanced and lunged with her sword, piercing into his thigh and immobilizing him. He was about to grab her with his other hand when Sachiko, not releasing her sword's handle, thrust her boot's heel forward, kicking into his kneecap and forcing it in the wrong direction, shattering the joint and pressing his now limp leg past his hamstrings. A loud _crack_ of bone could be heard, and blood spurted from the splintered kneecap. He screamed in agony, taken completely aback, and Yumi stared in astonishment at Sachiko. "Wait… wait!" hissed the lich, as Sachiko pulled Flower Stalk out of his bleeding thigh. "I haven't killed the girl, woman! Did you not notice that? In fact, I've given her wondrous powers, abilities that would dazzle any mortal! Don't you want what I have too? Imagine how much stronger you could be, how much easier your work would be – "

"Do you really think I need a man's strength, let alone an undead's?" Sachiko tucked her revolver in her holster as she raised her sword. "Wail, demon," demanded Rosa Chinensis en bouton. "Like the victims you've killed. Like this girl you've turned."

The vampire squealed for the first and last time as Sachiko's sword tore his arms to shreds. "For the Chinensis guild. For Lillian College. And for the Chrysanthemum Throne," whispered Sachiko, slashing horizontally. The lich's disbelieving expression looked all the more idiotic as his head flew off his shoulders and landed amongst his rabble of zombies. There was more blood on the ground than rain, but Sachiko didn't care. Sheathing Flower Stalk in her disguise cane, she hurried over to the trembling Yumi, stripping off her coat and throwing it around the younger girl. "My name is Ogasawara Sachiko. You have been bitten," she whispered, staring at Yumi's neck. She clasped Yumi's shoulders, her own pounding heart gradually settling down. "What did you say your name was?"

"F… Fu… Fukusawa… Yumi. Sachiko-sama…" The rainwater washed away her tears even as more of the latter continued to pour down her clenched eyelids and cheeks. "You're a hunter, aren't you? A… vampire hunter."

"Yes," said Sachiko quietly, sensing that Yumi was perhaps more afraid of her than even the dead vampire and his ghouls.

"I… I understand what you must do. I'm… I'm an abomination. I must be put down," gasped Yumi, avoiding Sachiko's gaze as she continued to sob. "Please don't let it hurt too much."

Sachiko pulled the hurt and confused undead close, embracing her in a comforting hug. She closed her eyes, a fire igniting in her own heart as she cradled the younger girl tenderly. "You're safe now, Yumi. I…" She hesitated as her grande soeur's words – _kill all undead_ – briefly filled her mind. But her heart recoiled at that command, at least when it came to the girl in her arms, who was sobbing in disbelieving relief. "I… will keep you safe. You didn't deserve any of this, and you certainly don't deserve to die. But where are your parents?"

"In Heaven," bawled the teen vampire, her fingers clutching Sachiko's sleeve. "My brother's missing, and I haven't had a home for the past year. No one here would want a street girl, especially a foreign one. And I was too afraid to follow the men who've tried to take me to their houses. I… I…"

A renewed hatred for men bubbled uncontrollably in Sachiko as she clutched Yumi tighter, stroking her drenched hair. "You have been wandering the streets for so long? Unacceptable. You will need accommodation, shelter, a roof." Sachiko pulled away slightly and looked at Yumi's surprised expression. "And I won't let you refuse. You're cold, starving, confused and distressed. Not to say that you're no longer a human." She tilted Yumi's downcast chin up with a gentle finger. "You truly did not deserve this."

Yumi nodded slowly, her eyes calming down somewhat. She held on as Sachiko swept her up, carrying her with an arm under her legs and another supporting her back. The rain continued to fall on them, but Sachiko couldn't help realizing that despite the fact that she was holding a vampire's body, that very vampire was still warm, warm with life and a beating, immortal heart. Surely fire was fire, no matter which candle it consumed.

They stared at each other's soaked faces, and for the first time since they met Yumi's lips broke into a slight, grateful, tentative smile. And that was when Sachiko realized, to her surprise, just how _cute_ this new undead in her arms was.

"Thank you… Sachiko-sama."

* * *

_Present day_

Whichever name the sun was called by – Amaterasu, Helios, Uṣas the Dawn – it deserved reverence because it dispelled the darkness and illuminated the hiding places of the undead. At this very moment, it was rising above the Thames, smiling upon the dwelling of the Crown, Buckingham Palace. It was another eventful day in England, although for some others the sun was the herald of rest and sleep.

Sachiko set down Flower Stalk amongst the folded umbrellas and made her way to the bedroom. She didn't bother to check the drawing room or kitchen for Yumi; it was already morningtide. The door at the end of the corridor was slightly open, but the lack of light filtering through meant that Yumi had been smart enough to leave the curtains closed and bound: lest she start burning up, of course. Sachiko smiled to herself and walked in, bending down to pull off her high boots. Before her was a wide bed with a tall, chinoiserie canopy that resembled the roof of a pagoda. Amidst the snowy silk sheets was Yumi, breathing softly as she sank into slumber. It was said that vampires never dream. But dream Yumi did, and it was always about her hunter-guardian… and the cold gleam of that cane sword. The Red Rose slowly, carefully sat down on the side of the bed, careful not to jolt Yumi out of her day-rest. But it was not enough to deceive the latter's vampiric senses, and Yumi opened her immortal eyes, gazing up blearily at the smiling huntress.

Sachiko stared down at the undead girl's body, her youthful, pure form that seemed so joyful and lively and vivacious. From her small, fragile shoulders to her small chest and waist and fidgeting toes, there was nothing to distinguish her from a typical human teenager, and a beautiful, flowering one at that.

"You were gone all night," sighed Yumi, her disappointment showing despite her welcoming tone. "It felt so lonely without you. I wanted to read those books with you beside me, with some hot tea for the cold rain. Your embrace is always so warm."

"I need money so I can take care of you, greedy thing. I will overlook your cheek and spend the coming night with you. But for now, go back to sleep. It's morning," murmured Sachiko, as her own eyelids began to feel heavy. She was exhausted and didn't bother to change. She only loosened her collar and laid aside her cloak as she reclined to snuggle beside the drowsy vampire. They tucked in together, throwing a blanket around themselves.

The soeurs' hands embraced, fingers intertwining possessively.

"You smell like dew and rain," mumbled the immortal creature, staring fondly at her human mistress. "You didn't suffer even a dash of undead blood on your clothes. Typical!"

"Our world is ruled by men, and that's a sad fact – they aren't satisfied even if we give them our bodies or pledge our hearts. They will rest only when they hold our very throats, deciding on a whim whether we breathe or die. That pernicious greed, far deadlier than any vampire's thirst, is what lies behind their hateful kingship. But the secret, undying world behind this young epoch of modernity belongs to us. Us women," whispered Sachiko, stroking Yumi's hair. "I see this agelessness every time I lie down with you, Yumi. Every time you drink my blood, every time I feel you struggling to spare my throat, you show me the world that is my hunting ground."

She felt Yumi's hand stroking the scars on her fingers, the cuts she had inflicted on herself to feed Yumi. "So don't betray my heart, sweet demon. Don't play with my naked life, my irrational affection, my lonely goodwill."

Her long hair disheveled and her blouse askew, the vampire yawned, exposing her growing fangs contentedly as the huntress gave her forehead a tender, precious kiss. "My eternity is yours, onee-sama."

* * *

_The year is 1902, the dawn of the 20__th__ century. Modernization has swept across West and East alike, sparing few civilizations. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, a treaty forged between the Japanese and British Empires, has been signed into effect. To the world, the treaty's objective is to safeguard their imperialist colonial interests. But a secret clause lies behind the contract. That is the mobilization of the Chinensis, Foetida, and Gigantea hunter guilds from Tokyo Lillian College. _

_It is the order to deploy against the horrific hordes of a hidden realm._

_Meanwhile, in the warm apartment of Number 9 Lilyston Square, an adolescent vampire snores quietly by firelight, dreaming of romantic castles, cherry blossoms, elfin groves, friendly dragons, and her very own Huntress._

_This is the story of Yumi and Sachiko's life together in the century of two tragic World Wars._

_I hope you enjoy this new Marimite AU! (^o^)_

* * *

**Next chapter: Only women can give to each other a new sense of self. Another dream of Yumi's about her first encounter with Sachiko, and a new, sinister reinterpretation of the lovely Gigantea family.**


	2. Bedside Sorcery, Schoolgirl Heartache

**Chapter 2**

**Bedside Sorcery, Schoolgirl Heartache  
**

* * *

Happy weekend (I love Friday nights and Saturdays) and welcome to Rose and Fang! (^o^) Thanks for your support and encouragement of this AU. I hope you enjoy this second chapter. (n_n) Please forgive me for the story's anachronisms. Historical setting though it may be, the fic is about Lillian student vampire hunters in London, so its credibility as a realistic story is probably bust from the get-go.

The year is 1902 and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance has been signed. Within the treaty, a clandestine contract between the Anglican Church and the Japanese imperial family is drawn up concerning the problem of the undead. The flashpoint is the capital of the British Empire, London. Three secret guilds from Tokyo's private Lillian College have been summoned to wage war against the night, their soeur members trained in cleansing cities of the horrors of the dark.

Yumi is a young girl, or more accurately a vampire, who lives under the same roof with the leader of the Chinensis hunter guild: Rosa Chinensis, Ogasawara Sachiko. It is a nightmare, of course, for an inexperienced nightwalker to live with such a beautiful human girl. Yumi is freehearted and open with her emotions, while Sachiko was brought up in a Japanese aristocratic household. Sachiko's duty and livelihood depends on killing vampires, but her heart belongs to this bloodsucker with petite soeur status. And most lethally, Yumi thirsts for her onee-sama. The desire for mutual surrender burns between them. Yumi's magical, undead presence, Sachiko's stern façade and inner fragility: please R&R and most importantly enjoy!

* * *

Sometimes after an hour of apathy, my strange and beautiful companion would take my hand and hold it with a fond pressure, renewed again and again; blushing softly, gazing in my face with languid and burning eyes, and breathing so fast that her dress rose and fell with the tumultuous respiration. It was like the ardor of a lover; it embarrassed me; it was hateful yet overpowering; and with gloating eyes she drew me to her, and her hot lips travelled along my cheek in kisses; and she would whisper, almost in sobs, "You are mine, you _shall_ be mine, you and I are one for ever."

– _Carmilla_, "Her Habits – A Saunter"

* * *

Blood trickled along the niches of the cobblestone. A rapidly cooling body landed on the pavement in an awkward, splayed position, beside a block of abandoned apartments. Gore trickled from the side of the body's jugular, and the limp hand flopped at Sachiko's feet Clad in her tailcoat and a warm vest, the huntress slowly raised her oil lamp in the dark to see the victim's profile more clearly. She preferred real fire to electric lights, for fire was one of the natural elements that the undead shied away from. Lightning achieved similar things, but not when it was tamed and imprisoned in bulbs and streetlights. The corpse belonged to a beautiful but impoverished woman – she was a prostitute earning quick money in the industrial slums here. Tonight there was no seedy client to provide her with a warm bed. Instead, six ghouls who had committed the murder were lurching toward Sachiko.

"Why six?" murmured Sachiko to herself. The ghouls groaned and reached for her, their monstrous grip ready to tear her apart and devour her. "Since when were there so many wandering together? When I first met Yumi, perhaps?"

A ghoul stumbled as its hands fell from its wrists, splashing into a puddle of purple blood on the ground. It grunted in puzzlement, before its filthy head also fell from its neck, rolling along the ground and stopping only when Sachiko planted her black boot's heel on it. The shambling ghouls groaned again, too slow to understand how their comrade had fallen.

Sachiko's sword had left her cane, and with another flick of her wrist and a twist of her arm, another ghoul collapsed, its chest opened by a deep gash. Its body began to burn and hiss, and the monster slowly cracked and crumbled into white ashes. Sachiko felt the same happen to the severed head beneath her foot, and as the last grains of dull sand scattered across the cobblestone, she lunged, thrusting Flower Stalk through a screaming zombie before sweeping its crumbling body to the ground. She smoothly withdrew her blessed sword, narrowly dodging a preternaturally quick lunge from the next creature. These monstrosities could be unexpectedly fast despite their mindlessness, and if they caught her in their arms death was all but certain. In retaliation she angrily belted her aggressor's face with the end of her cane, sending it sprawling to the ground. There were two others who tried to tackle her and sink their rotting teeth into her arm, but she spun and swung her sword in a horizontal arc, disemboweling them and sending their bodies crumpling down. Before the last of them – the dazed zombie she had welted – could rise, she plunged her weapon into its eye socket, and there was nothing except a loud gurgle and a trickle of blood, as undead flesh became purified ash.

"Well, well! Wasn't that a magnificent orgy of righteous hate?"

Rosa Chinensis glanced up above her, and she glimpsed the master of the ghouls – a filthy vampire in a grubby shirt and trousers – sitting on the edge of the apartment block's roof. He leered down repulsively at her. "Miss with almond eyes. What are you doing in my fair country, let alone in humble Shoreditch?"

"Commission," said Sachiko coolly. The full moon bathed her calm face with snowy light. "And I don't enjoy being here."

"You'll get used to it," declared her adversary, as he leaped from his high perch and landed into a crouch before her. She slowly backed off, raising her sword and cane. "Everything in this neighborhood looks so beautiful when you immerse yourself in the life of the undead." The tall vampire with matted hair bared his fangs, which were notably longer and sharper than Yumi's, and pounced, his feral scramble intended to disconcert and terrify. But Sachiko stood her ground, and as he reached for her she battered away his arm with her cane and counterattacked. The vampire's reflexes were faster than those of his servants, and he skidded back, before running for her again. He swiped at her, and the Rose blocked awkwardly with her cane-sheath before flying back. She stumbled on the flagstones, almost slamming against several bins near a wall.

Her elegant irises gleamed as she released her cane, letting it fall to the ground. "So that's how Englishmen treat women," she rebuked haughtily, eyes cold.

"You can't best me, Miss. Give up and be whole in death. I will make you my ghoul to make up for the six you killed," snarled her adversary.

_Bang_.

The vampire sniggered in disbelief as he glanced down. His stomach had been pierced by what was clearly a bullet, but as he glanced up, he realized that Sachiko's blindingly swift draw had revealed Vermillion in her hand, that small revolver with a smoking barrel. The undead master winced in sudden pain and terror as he realized the deadly silver properties of the metal inside him, and he swore and spat as his flesh began to dissolve agonizingly.

"Be whole in purification instead," murmured Sachiko, as the screaming vampire's body dissipated into the dark, early morning.

Having hardly broken a sweat in the rimy air, she spun her revolver and tucked it back in her holster. She walked over to the corpse of the woman, kneeling down to adjust her into a more dignified position. Soon, the corpse would be reanimated and become a predator, stalking the English nights as a bloodsucker herself. Rosa Chinensis tucked the woman's spread legs back together and moved the cold hands to their owner's abdomen. Sachiko paused as she entwined the fingers together, observing the peaceful face, which now looked ready for a decent funeral – if there were any passers-by tomorrow who would be moved enough to pay for one.

She raised her silver dagger, plunging the holy metal into the heart to prevent the body from turning. Finally, she placed a slightly crumpled red rose on the deceased's punctured chest, signaling to the other hunters in the city that this victim's demonic murderer had been brought to justice. Her final screams and weeping did not go unheard.

"Had I come earlier, perhaps you wouldn't need this unworthy rose of mine," whispered Sachiko. "Forgive me, Ma'am, and rest in peace."

_To think I came up with so many excuses for why I didn't do the same to Yumi_, she thought ruefully. Indeed, what she had done one year ago violated the Chinensis creed. Yumi was special, but if – just if – Sachiko met a bitten girl similarly charming and desirable, would she have spared her? What if she found two of them? Four? Ten? By God's wounds, Sachiko would have had an entire undead harem all to herself! Not to mention that Number 9 Lilyston Square would be most crowded, and that she would probably kill herself trying to feed them her blood every night. The very thought was shameful and embarrassing. The Red Rose suddenly smiled as the image of a dozen bloodsucking Yumis running about the home stuck in her mind. She rubbed her forehead, struggling not to snicker. "What is wrong with me?" she murmured.

She expected the dank, dark avenue to be silent now, but they weren't. Instead, she heard two shoes clacking on the pavement, and she turned, aiming her revolver at the source. "So the blessings on your weapons can now turn them to dust. At least it makes a lot less mess," tutted a female's uppity voice, and Sachiko gasped in surprise as the speaker tilted her black bonnet, looking knowingly at her. She looked oddly appealing in clothes that resembled those worn to funerals. Her lace dress was long, covering her legs and leaving only a slight gap above her ankles. That dress covered black stockings wrapped tightly around their wearer. Her chemise was decadent, sewn by the best tailors and hugging her form whilst denying others any glimpse of skin. Her secretive eyes danced in the light of Sachiko's lamp.

"Onee-sama!" cried Rosa Chinensis. She quickly withdrew her gun and hurried to retrieve her cane. "What are you doing out here on these streets, and so late at night?"

"I can appear to you just by thinking about you fondly. Besides, the religious don't hold a monopoly over killing vampires. Overpowering magic can achieve impressive results, which has always been the credo of Chinensis. But you never wished to learn my ways, so I allowed you to diversify the talents in our Red school by training in swordfighting and firearms. I suppose I haven't been disappointed." The shorthaired witch revealed a gnarled, birch wand in her hand, pointed it at the woman's harmless corpse, and gave a brief wave. The body combusted and began to burn at her mental command. Mizuno Youko smiled condescendingly at Sachiko's narrowed eyes. "This is London, my Sachiko. There will be no one to pay for this poor lady's funeral. I treasure your innocent optimism, but let's not let the rats have this body."

She looked up. "Above you."

Sachiko dived towards Youko as a half-naked zombie crashed into the ground where she had stood just a moment ago. He snarled as he shambled up, blood gushing from his rotting mouth. Sachiko and her grande soeur stood back-to-back as the dark street once more filled with ghouls, their forms leaping from the dilapidated rooftops, their feet landing on the stone footpaths. Youko and Sachiko's eyes darted from opponent to opponent: there were eight. Concerned at the unusual numbers and coordination of the zombies, Sachiko drew her gun once more, aiming it at the closest ghoul. But Youko simply raised her wand, twirling it dramatically. "Allow me."

She smiled as her eloquent incantation broke into the night. "_Incineratae_!"

A ring of fire erupted from thin air around the two soeurs, its roaring flames shooting high and reaching for the adjacent buildings' second stories. The pitch-black sky and cobblestone suddenly lit up, as if it was only early evening in the borough. The ghouls shuffled back, confused and singed at the sudden display of arcane magic. They groaned stupidly and raised their decayed arms, stumbling at the blistering heat. Youko smiled as Sachiko lowered her gun. She made some fancy, esoteric gesture with her birch, but it was clearly to redirect the arcane spell, and the ring of flames suddenly burst from the ground, shooting outwards in an expanding, scorching disc and burning into the zombies that encircled the hunters. The shocked undead shrieked eerily as the flying ring of mystic fire sliced into their chests and incinerated their torsos, leaving no tissue to reform or heal. Their trunks sloughed off their upper bodies, and they fell to the ground as the enchantment spent itself and vanished, leaving only seared charcoal, ashes and the burnt flesh of silent undead corpses.

Youko looked smug while Sachiko kept quiet due to her pride, but it was blatantly obvious that the latter still had a long way to go before she could claim that she was a greater Rosa Chinensis than her predecessor. The sorceress turned to look at her former bouton. "So anyway, how goes Yumi-chan's feeding?"

"Don't mock me, onee-sama," warned Sachiko, her calm temperament flaring. "She was my choice. She is my responsibility and I believe I have been providing her with the best life she can have at this point."

"I see, I see."

The enchantress's expression grew pensive after several moments of awkward silence. "Did you know, Sachiko? In direct violation of even our Emperor's will, the retired White Rose intends to crash London."

Sachiko's eyes widened, all irritation forgotten and replaced by apprehension. "Wh… what…? Satou… Sei-sama? Her bedroom escapades will reduce the Capital to rubble!"

Youko sighed in exasperation. "Why do you think I came out to see you? I couldn't sleep a wink, Sachiko. I needed someone to share this with, secret though it should remain. Just thinking about Sei and our time as Roses is enough to make me toss and turn in bed. Last time she was in London, she was an exchange student visiting the eighth Baron of Howard de Walden. She stopped by Queen's College on Harley Street to give some silly pep talk. Back then… I wonder how many English schoolgirls lost their hearts – or more – to her."

"Her popularity at Queen's still bothers you?" asked Sachiko awkwardly, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't forget, Sachiko. Sei and I just became Old Girls this year. When we were still Lillian students, it was galling to hear her boast about her vices with the girls and nuns after her return to Tokyo." Youko adjusted her bonnet, shielding her eyes. "Or perhaps I should call that predatory woman by her promoted title now: Fleet Admiral of the Imperial Navy."

"_Gensui_?" Sachiko shook her head incredulously. "So Itou Sukeyuki-sama lost out to one of our Old Girls?" The Japanese Empire's fleet was Asia's first modernized sea force and the only one that could stand against those of the Western nations. And the Emperor had appointed Sei as its commander? Apparently _Sei-mania_ had infected even His Imperial Majesty. "So the monsters have become such a priority that the British Crown's recalling her. What about you, onee-sama? You really won't be going back to Kyoto?"

Youko adjusted her fancy bonnet again and nodded grimly. "No. By direct order of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the House of Yamato, we are to kill vampires. This is nothing less than a declaration of war, Sachiko. I hope you and our little undead darling will be ready."

* * *

_1901_

The door creaked open as Sachiko adjusted the newly reborn vampire's soaked and trembling body against her damp tailcoat. She quickly set her cane sword against the corner of the wall and carried the newborn vampire into the apartment of Number 9, Lilyston Square. Yumi stared at the warm drawing room that awaited her, several steps down from the unit's door. "This is the home I was assigned while stationed in London. It took me some time to adjust to the cramped life here, especially without my attendants back home. But before anything else, I must dry you off, and give you a fresh bath. Then I will give you my spare nightdress so you can sleep soundly on a bed under a roof for once, not on the streets where there lurk vermin and vampires."

"Your home is beautiful, Sachiko-sama," murmured Yumi, taking in the fully stacked bookshelves, the soft-edged, brown couches and the mirrors and cupboards against the walls, which were of a homely coffee color. At the back of the room, near the fireplace, was a framed portrait of the green, rolling hills of Ireland, as well as some traditional Japanese scroll paintings brought over from Lillian College. "It's a wonderful house."

"Oh, hush," said Sachiko, as she walked towards the bathroom. "I did not bring you here so I could show off." There were only two doors in the corridor leading away from the drawing room, and Sachiko opened one of them. Yumi's hand was still clutching Sachiko's arm as she gazed at the canopied bed in the slightly cramped room, its floorboards creaking from Sachiko's boots. "This will be your room." Yumi nodded slowly, but Sachiko wasn't finished. "Perhaps I should be truthful. It is our room. We shall share it. I only have one bedroom in this suite." Yumi glanced up in surprise, staring at Sachiko mutely and doing her best not to show her embarrassment. The Red Rose closed her eyes, turning away. "Don't look at me like that. There is hardly any real living space in London these days. This city can be so bereft of warmth, of hospitality. I have done my best to make this apartment more cozy." It was true, Yumi realized, that the house wasn't that big, even though she'd been sleeping on the streets for a year and hardly remembered what the average home looked like in the capital. It mattered not to her, however, because she was here, and Sachiko was here.

"Come." Sachiko walked over to the satin bedside and slowly set Yumi down on it. Yumi shook her head in protest, for she was still wet and afraid of dirtying the sheets with her filth-caked, bloody, street-stained body and rags. But Sachiko ignored her objections and opened her dark brown, ornate cupboard, taking out a cotton towel and holding it up. "Will you wipe yourself? Or must I do it?" she asked, eyes shining with their own peculiar uncertainty.

Yumi lowered her eyes, mumbling something inaudibly.

"Excuse me?" prompted Sachiko.

"Thank you, Sachiko-sama," whispered the undead to the hunter. "I don't know what I would do if you weren't there… if you didn't bring me here."

Sachiko gave a modest smile as she approached Yumi with the towel. "You didn't answer my question, did you? But for now, I will swallow my curiosity just this time, vampiress. And just for you. So be grateful."

She slowly lowered herself to her knees, to meet Yumi's eye level. They looked at each other shyly, as if silently asking each other for approval. Rosa Chinensis en bouton made the first move. She carefully dabbed at Yumi's face, rubbing gently, before stroking at her hair to make sure she didn't succumb to pneumonia (could vampires catch colds?). Feeling the fluffy cloth on her damp skin, Yumi closed her eyes and allowed herself to treasure this one warm, precious moment, when a human being actually dried her off without even asking questions about her ordeal tonight. A human being, no less a huntress, was wiping her clean, her touch so tender and mild! Yes, it was true that Sachiko seemed a bit distant, but it was as if she had every right to be: a princess, a royal amongst hunters of the night-beings. Still, Yumi wondered, what would happen to her now? Surely she would have to find somewhere else, be it a kind soul's house or the streets again. Sachiko had already blessed her by letting her live. To ask her to do any more for her would be unreasonable and disrespectful.

"Yumi." Yumi jumped and looked at Sachiko, who gave a tentative smile. "You don't seem like the kind of undead who revels in her powers, eager to unleash it against humanity."

"Power?" Yumi blanched. "I just want to try and find somewhere to live. You've been so kind to me, so caring… I don't want to be any more trouble. I'm going to get myself off these streets and… and… find someone who'll let me work for them – "

"There's no need to be so desperate," whispered Sachiko. "You are my junior by a year, no? Then you should be at school, or at least be studying and living comfortably." Without realizing it, she had put a finger to Yumi's trembling lip. They flushed briefly at each other's touch. "I have a proposition. If you swear to live by your vow – to never hurt a human being, and to exist by the Chinensis creed – you can stay here. You will not need to worry about feeding, for I can give you my own blood… not from my jugular, of course. You will not need to worry about hunters, for this huntress will keep you under her roof and protect you. And you will never have to yearn for acceptance, for as long as you promise not to feed on humans you are not part of the undead world. You remain with us, on the side of humanity."

Sachiko gazed at Yumi. "You must promise to have no one else's blood but mine."

Yumi looked in disbelief at her savior as the latter now wiped dry her body, stroking her shoulders, her thin arms, and even her back, torso, and waist. She could not help the bright red creeping across her cheeks. "Sachiko-sama," she almost squealed out in adoring gratitude.

"_Onee-sama_. Say that, please. I am now, perhaps, your grande soeur, for all intents and purposes. That is the tradition of the Chinensis guild. I once tried to invite a younger girl, Shimako, to be my soeur, but she turned me down, much to the disappointment of my own onee-sama. I still haven't been able to keep the lineage. Until now." Sachiko stared at the blushing vampire. What had compelled her to do this? What had obliged her to make her own life so complicated? Was it in the heat of the moment? Perhaps it was her simple humanity that overcame her abstract sense of duty to the Chinensis guild, to Youko-sama, to the Japanese Empire?

Or did she just want to have a petite soeur at last, after being alone for so long and rejected by Shimako?

It mattered not. This girl called Yumi was here now. And suddenly, Number 9 Lilyston Square seemed warmer. More lively. More like a home.

"I am not worthy," whispered the undead girl bashfully.

"It is a myth that vampires despise crucifix-shaped items," murmured Rosa Chinensis en bouton. Her hands found Yumi's trembling fingers, even as she laid the damp towel aside. "Yet would you, a vampire, consider it in poor taste for a human being to impart to you a rosary?"

Yumi beamed and bared her fangs unconsciously, for her heart was dancing. Suddenly, the nightmare of being captured and turned into an undead hardly seemed to matter. Not when Sachiko's words and hands were wasted on her. Not she could have such an honor.

"Not at all, onee-sama."

* * *

_Present day. 2am _

Yumi the vampire stirred as she felt the hand of her huntress. She glanced up, smiling blissfully at the amused face. "Good evening, Yumi. It's strange how my own onee-sama always greeted me with a '_Gokigenyo_.' With you, I can say nothing except '_Konbanwa_.'" Sachiko lifted away her tailcoat and hung it by the stand. "Would you like to feed on me now?"

Yumi flushed in pleasure, her nightdress a gentle cerulean color. "Perhaps later. I want to laze around awhile before I have the pleasure of drinking your blood again. I had another dream about you, onee-sama. I saw you again, when you brought me here for the first time. I was so happy, so thrilled when you wiped me dry and laid me down on this bed. When you gave me your rosary and made me yours."

"A truly special night, wasn't it?" agreed Sachiko quietly. When Sachiko came home in the early morning, before sunrise, they could converse and enjoy the simple gladness of each other's company. "Sometimes our memories are fickle, choosing recollections to churn in our hearts over and over whilst leaving behind those too troubling or shameful. But enough about the past. Let us relish the present, and perhaps discuss a little about the future. "

"I never chose to become an undead, nor have I lived among them. I don't feel any loyalty to them at all. I want to protect and serve you and, if you'd let me, help you in your struggle."

Sachiko hesitated. "You are a powerful being, Yumi. You will remain on this earth long after I have passed into dust. But I still have my pride as your grande soeur. I will be your guardian, Yumi, until I am too old and frail to hold my revolver. You owe me your life, sweet vampire, and I intend for you to entertain the selfish wiles of this human. Please allow me that."

Yumi nodded, heart singing. "Of course, onee-sama. Your whims are my commands."

The hunter bent down, retrieving two books from her bag and placing them on the bed. "While you were snoring away, I went downtown to meet some officials. I forgot to give you these novels the other night. I have Wilde's _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ here, along with a novel called _Carmilla_. Apparently, it formed one of the inspirations for Bram Stoker's _Dracula_." Yumi eagerly reached out and took the books, admiring the decorative spine and bound paper. "I'm sure you'll enjoy learning how the human writer imagines ways to kill vampires."

"Why would I want to go to school, when I can learn everything from you?" giggled Yumi.

"I am your soeur, yet hardly your teacher," smiled Sachiko, flattered nevertheless. She sat down beside the vampire, who hadn't lifted away her blanket. "I just bring you this country's literary treasures so that you won't be bored… and for your own intellectual stimulation, of course. It will be a sad day when an immortal vampire knows less about the world than a mere mortal."

"Don't send me away," begged Yumi playfully. "Don't dump me in boarding school."

"I just became a Rose this year – do you think I can send you anywhere with the tight budget I have? This isn't my home in Japan," huffed Sachiko, although her face betrayed her amusement at their teasing spar. She took Yumi's hand and raised it to her lips, giving it a light, stern kiss. Yumi tittered coquettishly, pulling back. She pretended to hide behind the novel's cover, holding up the book and peering at Sachiko, blinking impishly.

Sachiko tilted her head in wonder. "Such an innocent, lovely demon you are."

Yumi yawned and put down the book, gazing at Sachiko and wondering what other news the huntress had. "The Foetida and Gigantea guilds are being summoned here from Tokyo," murmured her mortal custodian. "My onee-sama told me, Yumi. She also notified me that the former White Rose herself, Sei-sama, is coming to London."

"Sei-sama?" Yumi blinked. "I don't know her."

"Oh, you will if you let her. Although I hope you won't," muttered Sachiko. "Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like, if in more peaceful times, you would have been able to meet Sei-sama while she was still Rosa Gigantea. Her appetite for the sense-pleasures, like yours, is quite limitless." She looked at Yumi, whose expression had suddenly changed. "Yumi?"

Yumi let out a nervous giggle as she rubbed her stomach. "Onee-sama, I'm sorry… but… I think I'm feeling hungry now," she confessed quietly.

"Very well." Sachiko turned around, her eyes searching for the dagger. Now where did it go? Did she leave it on her belt or one of her straps? "You will be tasting my fingers soon enough."

But that was not what the vampire wanted. She lifted up the sheets and crawled towards Sachiko. "Please, onee-sama."

The black-haired huntress stared at her in confusion as the latter opened wide her mouth, exposing her unearthly fangs to her guardian. "Take off your clothes. Let me look at you as you truly are. I need to touch you. I must hold your undressed body."

Yumi gazed dreamily at the indignant Sachiko, who gawked at her in silent outrage. The vampiress was blushing furiously, but she didn't care, she was pressing ahead, she needed this, she wanted this, and like any other night, she would not be denied the right of her nocturnal, damned existence. "Just touching these books makes me all the more aware that they were written by the hands of humans, and that those hands will grow old and wrinkled and pass to nothingness. Before you follow them…" Yumi shuddered, compelled by the mysterious force of her vampiric being. "I want to show you how much I love you and your precious human life."

Sachiko breathed deeply. "You are an insolent, brazen, cheeky…"

She shook her head to clear her mind, but her heart was beating incessantly, raring to bask in Yumi's adulation. Yumi nodded eagerly, encouragingly, as the older girl hesitantly turned and lifted up her legs, placing them on the bed. "What am I going to do with you? Or perhaps I should ask… what are you going to do to me?" She slowly gestured for Yumi to come forward as she unbuttoned her vest. "Be gentle."

"Your stockings," hissed Yumi quietly, her fangs glinting like immaculate porcelain.

_She hasn't even thought of trying to bewitch my mind, yet I'm already obeying her every word… Yumi, your power over me is truly worrying_. The flustered Red Rose looked away as she debated with herself whether to rebuke her, or give her a light slap, or… Her hand wandered down after putting aside the vest, slowly slipping off the tight dark cloth around her thigh. Beneath her white, frilled shirt was a black lace corset that bound her breasts and willowy midsection, and Yumi slowly approached on all fours, gazing at her mistress's slender leg in awe as it slowly became exposed to her. Her hand moved towards her grande soeur, sliding titillatingly along Sachiko's hip.

She glanced the human, who was shunning her gaze. In response to the invitation to relax and enjoy the engagement with the senses, Rosa Chinensis shyly rolled her shoulders in an attempt to look desirable, unsure if she was doing it correctly. "Don't laugh, child," she stammered insecurely. "I'm doing my best to try and keep up with you."

Yumi let out an unusual, primal growl and reached for Sachiko's corset, pulling insistently. Sachiko instinctively raised her leg to hide her progressively exposed skin, but Yumi caught her thigh in her hands, and before Sachiko could pull away, two orbs of crimson, fiendish light emanated from Yumi's irises as she fell forward, entranced by her human soeur's smell. It was luxury rose perfume laced with the delight of the natural mammalian scent, and the sensual physicality was incredible, the beads of sweat, the pores on this pale, nubile, fragrant flesh –

"Yumi!" purred the writhing Sachiko, as she felt her corset wrenched and tugged with naïve carelessness. She gasped in momentary pain as she felt the vampire's gorgeous fangs sink into her thigh, pricking the area just above her knee, but the sting was washed away in a sea of mind-shattering pleasure as the pretty little creature began to suck, nibbling lightly, then roughly, pushing against Sachiko's waist and pinning her down on the bed. She worshipped her grande soeur's arched leg, kissing it everywhere, ecstatic at Sachiko's quiet cries and watching those toes at the end of that shapely foot curl at her lips' touch. A blushing, self-conscious Sachiko struggled frantically against the bedsheets as Yumi's fingers worked clumsily at her lace. "Why do I deserve this? What have I done to anger you, that you must torture me like this – _ah_!"

Yumi's irises were glowing a sinister red. Her voice was slightly… more aggressive than usual. It made her sound almost an entire year older. "You were right… I'm growing stronger, onee-sama."

"Spare me!" cried Sachiko, her eyes widening as Yumi's canines released her leg, leaving a slight trickle of blood that mingled with the vampire's saliva. She repeated her plea in panic, afraid that her aroused screaming and shouting would disturb and exasperate her British neighbours, but Yumi ignored her and scrambled up, sending _Carmilla_ and _The Picture of Dorian Gray _over the edge of the bed and thumping on the wooden floorboards. She clamored firmly against her mistress's scorched body, managing to just avoid the pulsing neck and biting hard into her shoulder. She closed her eyes in bliss at the sumptuous, velvety, rich taste of Sachiko's life. Stung once more, Rosa Chinensis felt her warm blood emerging from her perforated skin in a trickle, but to have Yumi's lips suck it away – ! It was too much, just too much. "Please! I'm dying, you're going to kill me!" Immortal Yumi kissed her again, rubbing her lips along the pounding jugular before returning to the wound to feed. "Help! Save me!" begged the hunter, the bewitching pleasure compelling her convulsing and writhing body to obey. She felt Yumi's gentle hand inching past her damp thigh, and she unconsciously moved her legs further apart, no longer able to fight back. She returned Yumi's caresses meekly, stroking the hands that stroked her, no longer able to swim in the sea of enthralling blankness.

"Yumi," croaked Sachiko hoarsely, dazed and dumbfounded as her terrible, cruel partner tenderly nudged her, guiding her nubile body to slide down against the cushions of their bed. Her sweating back pressed against the mattress. "You are truly petrifying," she panted, not even having the strength to wipe away at the tears or spittle on her face.

Yumi was also out of breath, although her eyes continued to glimmer with a powerful blaze – the fire of her never-ending thirst for Sachiko. "Are… are you afraid of me, onee-sama?"

"Somewhat, sometimes," blurted the vulnerable, provoked Rose, as she looked up in passionate anger at her lover. "And why shouldn't I feel this way? I'm just a human girl! And you – you – " Her throaty voice rose shrilly. "You are an immortal, beautiful princess of the night! You're supposed to be my ward, but I have unconsciously become your slave! Perhaps I always wished for that in the darkest recesses of my heart, but this doesn't change the fact that keeping a force of nature in my bedroom can be dangerous! I already do my best to forget that you could tear me apart like wet tissue if you didn't love me!"

The two girls started. They both realized that Sachiko had said something rather hurtful. Yumi felt indignant and wronged. "I would never dare to think like that…!" she whispered in protest, her eyes prickling at the unhappy knowledge that Sachiko could think so cautiously of her. "I… I am your petite soeur!" she insisted, her hands pressing against her quivering lip. Perhaps she shouldn't have taken it personally; she was a vampire and her power was undeniable. But surely she had proven her submission many times over, even if the desire to feed on Sachiko remained? "I am your servant in life and death."

Sachiko stared up at her, realizing too late that her words were far sharper than her sword and more painful than any wound she could inflict. "I'm sorry, Yumi. I got carried away in my hysterical lust and said a horrible thing. I know you would never think of harming me." She reached up for Yumi's face, and Yumi bent down, closing her eyes as the huntress stroked the back of her head. "You're crying. Why?"

Yumi closed her glistening eyes. "I adore you, onee-sama. It is you who needs to refrain from hurting me."

"As I said, how could I hurt you?" whispered Sachiko, her legs pressing Yumi between her, forbidding her from leaving. "I am at your mercy."

Yumi could barely talk as they continued to kiss and exchange hushed vows of adoration. Such was the agonized passion that was incinerating them tonight, on this canopied bed and in this cozy bedroom. "All you think about is our bodies, onee-sama. I meant my immortal heart. It is in your hands. I beg of you. Hold it gently."

* * *

_In the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On board the HMS Eagle, en route to Northfleet_

"Booooring."

"We will be in London soon, onee-sama. Please endure the monotony for a bit longer."

Setting down a tray of hot silverware, an angelic-looking girl in an innocent white chemise (resembling, perhaps, a ballerina's outfit) turned to the figure in the shadows of the captain's guest cabin. "While I am grateful beyond words that you would choose to accompany me, you don't need to do this. As the newly promoted Rosa Gigantea, it is my duty to attend to all vampire affairs on my own. I would not dare to ask for help, unless it was from Noriko."

"Where is that sneaky, spying bouton, anyway?" came the figure's friendly voice. "Stabbing vampires with her _kunai_? Blowing up undead with her blessed bombs?"

"In my cabin and trying to keep her sickness to herself, I believe," said Todou Shimako guiltily. Her large eyes shone, and reflected a mysterious divine power within. Her wavy hair was slightly mussed from the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean. It was always dreadful to travel by sea from East Asia to Western Europe. "I think she's feeling nauseous and queasy. She never wanted to leave Tokyo, but for my sake, she…"

"Well, don't worry about her, Shimako. As long as you stay by her side she can't complain. And don't worry about me, either. Noriko-chan came to assist you with your work. I'm going to London to indulge my… iniquities."

"It's alright, Shimako-san. I'm alright. I'm here," came an unexpected, woozy voice.

Shimako jumped as she looked down at the kneeling form beside her. The slender _kunoichi_, evidently female by the curved form hugged by black garments, removed her demonic _hannya_ mask with a gauntleted hand, revealing an unhappy grimace on an otherwise plain but pretty face. Her fringes were cut above her brow and her dark eyes were dizzy. Shimako let out a soft cry. "Oh, Noriko! You surprised me, arriving without a word as usual. I've never been used to how protective you are of me. You really should rest if you feel ill: no one will be ambushing us here." Rosa Gigantea extended her right hand habitually, and Noriko obediently took Shimako's wrist, pressing her pink lips to Shimako's knuckles devotedly.

"You entrusted me to defend and keep you safe, Shimako-san. A bit of seasickness won't deter me from my honor and duty." The ninja shot the figure in the darkness a glare with her raven eyes. "Or this Old Girl who refuses to leave the school she's already graduated from."

_Loser_, she thought to herself.

Shimako turned to the shadowy form. "It seems Noriko's here after all, onee-sama."

"I can tell from the jealous aura in this cabin. Our rivalry over you will persist for eternity, Shimako… generation after generation, even after this century is over and all its terrible wars have been fought out. When everything has been won and lost, when we keep our chin up as humanity falls." The slender individual sat, with one leg crossed, on a wooden chair beside a desk stacked with vampire-hunting manuals and English literature. Beside the table's tomes lay prickly thorns surrounding a silver pistol with a brown grip. They were hardly conventional ammunition, but the pistol was not an ordinary one either. The modified Webley Mk was called "Forest of Thorns," and it was armed not with bullets, but thorns from the crown the Romans mocked the Crucified Savior with. This relic had been confiscated by the Catholic Church for a thousand years, but was stolen from the Vatican by Noriko just last year, in 1901. Whisked away to the guilds and enchanted with Youko's magic, the Gigantea family had managed to duplicate the thorns from the original crown and access an unspeakable power.

The wielder of Forest of Thorns should have been splendidly decked with medals, but she didn't wear her greatcoat, only a white shirt and deep blue trousers. The cocky grin in the shadows was discernible, framed by recently cut hair and a pair of sparkling, mischievous eyes.

"Besides, to see Youko again after so many months doesn't sound half bad. _And_ I get to surprise my buxom ladies at Queen's before their fathers get wind of my coming and lock them up. Surely the girls are all missing their gay for Sei!"

* * *

**Next chapter: The three guilds reunited! A formal declaration of war against the forces of the night.**

* * *

_Lillian College Student Register: The Chinensis Guild_

Name: Fukusawa Yumi  
Rank: Rosa Chinensis en bouton  
Weapon/s: While Yumi has no weapons, she possesses the entire spectrum of vampiric abilities. She is immortal unless killed with blessed silver or overpowering magic. She enjoys superhuman strength, accelerated healing and hypnotic powers, shapeshifting, flight and levitation, control over nocturnal animals like bats and wolves, and the ability to turn human beings into ghouls or vampires by biting their jugulars. Necromantic powers allow her to consume the bodies of those she kills and use as familiars.  
Profile: Yumi is perhaps the most innocent and natural girl in the world. With humble beginnings as a shipyard orphan and refugee, it is all the more shocking that she could have been made into a creature of such immense potential. With her powers, she could quite easily enslave any mortal human to do her bidding, but she chooses not to. This is especially true for her mistress, her onee-sama, her grande soeur, and her one true beloved: the vampire huntress Sachiko. Her adoration of the human girl who was supposed to kill her is solemn and intense, and she believes that protecting their mutual love is far, far more important than turning her into some helpless slave. But no one said such a commitment was easy, especially when Sachiko is just so delicious – and feeds her every night with her blood. A lethal, killing thirst is still love.

Name: Ogasawara Sachiko  
Rank: Rosa Chinensis  
Weapon/s: Sachiko is rarely seen without her "Flower Stalk" sword, which is hidden in a cane that doubles as a sheath. The sword is blessed with both Buddhist and Christian consecrations, and Sachiko also uses a revolver with Macedonian silver bullets called "Vermillion."  
Profile: The current Red Rose of the Chinensis guild and a professional hunter, Sachiko was too late to save Yumi from being turned into an undead bloodsucker. Slaying the monster did not solve the problem of a weeping vampire in her arms. Was it sympathy? Was it a whim of desire or a prompting by her inner loneliness? Whatever the reason, Sachiko made Yumi her petite soeur in secret, entrusting their sensitive bond only to Youko. Together, they live in the flat Number 9, at Lilyston Square, sharing a warm bedroom. She spends much of her spare time taking care of Yumi's needs, including feeding her in a nightly ritual which is charged with sexual excitement and emotional tension. She buys English literature for Yumi to read with the money she earns from her clients. The question she asks herself every day is why she feels such responsibility to Yumi. Is it because she feels guilty – or more because she cannot bear to let the sweet vampire go?

Name: Mizuno Youko  
Rank: Former Rosa Chinensis  
Weapon/s: A gnarled magic wand made of birch.  
Profile: The last surviving practitioner of a primeval force called sorcery; the cheery and fashion-conscious Youko is a no-nonsense, sharply analytical huntress who blends logic with intuitive, overpowering creativity. Her black arts are powerful enough to match even the strongest of vampiric abilities. Curses, invisibility, conjuring illusions and material objects, summoning monsters, teleportation and psychic powers, mastery over the four elements – there is nothing Youko's encyclopaedic esoteric knowledge cannot craft. Many of her favorite spells are of the dazzling, spectacular kind, inspiring awe and fear in her foes. This near-invincible enchantress shares a secret past with the ex-White Rose, which hides a dark truth unknown to anyone else but the two girls. Time will tell of its consequences.

* * *

_Lillian College Student Register: The Gigantea Guild_

Name: Todou Shimako  
Rank: Rosa Gigantea  
Weapon/s: Shimako has inherited the martial arts and healing magic of the Todou family, although the full spectrum of her powers is unknown and rarely revealed.  
Profile: The current White Rose, Shimako is one year junior to her Rose peers and less experienced in vampire hunting. As the daughter of a high-ranking Buddhist monk and interested in the Catholic faith, she is earnest, pure, and sometimes excessively gentle. She is very deferential, particularly towards her onee-sama. She is extremely lenient and permissive towards her petite soeur, Noriko, whom she is very protective over. She possesses a strong side that manifests only in trying circumstances. The extent of her capabilities is currently unknown, although those who have witnessed her in serious action have never emerged to tell the tale.

Name: Nijou Noriko  
Rank: Rosa Gigantea en bouton  
Weapon/s: Blessed _kunai_, blessed _tanto_, grappling hook, smoke bombs with holy water, blessed _shuriken_, ninjutsu martial arts.  
Profile: Shimako's loyal shadow, the current White bouton is the bodyguard and secret agent of the Gigantea guild. Trained by Japanese ninja in the dead art of ninjutsu, Noriko is the last of an extinct tradition of assassins being overtaken by modern warfare. But she is all the more valuable thanks to her espionage skills and anti-vampire expertise. A deadly presence that silences not only zombies and ghouls, she also eliminates humans who oppose the Gigantea guild and Tokyo Lillian College. Despite her swift, harsh and violent way of dealing with enemies, her tenderness is evident in how she treats her grande soeur, and it is obvious that she is deeply in love with her mistress. She shares a rivalry over Shimako with Sei.

Name: Satou Sei  
Rank: Former Rosa Gigantea, currently Fleet Admiral (_gensui_) of the Imperial Navy of the Japanese Empire  
Weapon/s: A unique, modified Webley Mk revolver called "Forest of Thorns," armed with the thorns of Christ's crown.  
Profile: A swashbuckling ladykiller and genius in vampire hunting, Sei is the most talented military strategist of her generation. Credited with the extinction of vampires in Japan, she was awarded the Empire's highest honors, a First Class Order of the Golden Kite and Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum. In recognition of her outstanding service during her tenure as Rosa Gigantea, she now leads Japan's modernized sea armada, the only Asian navy that can match those of the West. A wise friend and advisor, Sei loves nothing more than to tease her juniors and seduce the English and American schoolgirls at Queen's College. Behind her kind smile is a hidden, dark past with Youko.


	3. A Girl after my Own Heart

**Chapter 3**

**A Girl after my Own Heart**

* * *

A/N: Thanks for checking out the third chapter of Rose and Fang, a more or less Gothic fantasy fanfic about the Lily Council soeurs as vampire huntresses during 1902, the year of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. o.O With the arrival of the Gigantea soeurs in London, a new stage in the war against the undead is about to take place as the three guilds of Tokyo Lillian College reunite to scour the United Kingdom of the unholy enemy. Many mysteries concerning the vampire presence remain unanswered, however, and for once it may fall upon a fully-fledged vampire like Yumi to assist her mistress-huntress Sachiko in the work of purging undead. Please R&R but most importantly enjoy…

* * *

_1872. The state of Styria, southeastern Austria_

"And may the shadow of this dark, bottomless evil be dispelled forever. In the name of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Greater Japan and on behalf of Europe's monarchs and people…

"You will die."

The stake plunged into the slumbering vampiress's warm, beating heart. She vomited blood as her eyes shot open in shock and disbelief, and to the realization that her coffin had been opened. Who could have lifted away the stone that hid her tomb and dug out her sarcophagus? Who had the hunter's intelligence to exhume her in the early hours of the morning, when she had just returned from her feeding rounds and was drowsiest? She looked up wildly, glimpsing a light-haired, grey-eyed culprit who was sitting over her, straddling her thin body as she lifted the wooden mallet and tossed it away.

"You?" whispered the dark-haired beauty, slowly bleeding from every orifice. Blood seeped from her eyes and fangs and tainted her sumptuous robes of dark green and silver. The currency of the soul spilled out from her. The morning sky behind her vanquisher was a dark, ominous grey. "Of all people… you, my dearest? Are you taking away everything from me? Are you leaving me?"

"It wasn't I who left you. It was you who left me." The Japanese huntress – the grandmother of the girl who would come to be named Satou Sei – narrowed her eyes in bittersweet triumph. She smiled grimly as she watched her ambushed foe try to gasp with a stabbed lung. Blood from the perforated heart sprayed from her breast with each laborious breath. "We have scattered your wicked fiends to the winds. We have locked away the Catholic priests, those traitors, who colluded with you in the hope of winning your heart and eternal life. And I personally tracked you down, here in the graveyard and chapel of the Karnsteins, you fiend of that wretched noble family… you who masqueraded as Countess Karnstein in your human life. Your castle is abandoned and your fiefdom wiped out. Your infernal armies have been annihilated and your werewolf retainers slain by my hand. Did you think you could have anyone else apart from me?"

The girl rolled up her sleeve and revealed her wrist, which was marked by a blade's scar. Then she pulled down her collar, exposing the bite marks – the blemishes that came not from fangs, but from the biting and sucking by a lover's mouth. "And despite your nightly visitations, on those full moons when you flew into my room, seduced me and bedded me passionately… despite your bewitching of my body and heart, I will never belong to you."

The matriarch of the Satou family raised her fist and slammed it onto the stake, driving it deeper into the Countess's punctured breast and sending it bursting out from behind her back. The undead mistress screamed as Satou grabbed her neck and forced her to rise. "Get up!" She briefly throttled her, shaking her violently, angrily, and despairingly. "It's over, Carmilla! Millarca! Mircalla! You, who disguised your name throughout the centuries, yet never disguised your love for your victims…" Satou gritted her teeth as her defeated foe and lover began to weep, suppressing the urge to cry with her. "A sad story, you pathetic Queen of the Night. We could have endured with our affection as long as you held on to me… but you never intended to regain your mortality and tried to transcend the most precious thing between us: the humanity that binds us together. You're a pitiful undead, immortal wretch, with too much life and too little dignity. Now I have no choice but to marry a man, and carry on my line as if I never loved you. Now my kin after me will remember you – such is your heart's sway – and they will adore you as fatally as I have. Why must you prolong the heartache of my clan? Why must you damn the daughters for the sins of their mothers?"

The Countess's fading eyes focused on the beautiful irises that were piercing into her, on the lips that still beckoned even as she danced on the precipice between oblivion and eternity, insanity and clarity.

"I don't _want_ to be free from your longing," she rasped, "I have chosen you, and all your successors, with the curse of my affection. So do not… deny me…"

"But of course." Satou's eyes softened as she drew closer, her hands now clutching the other's face instead as she kissed her sorrowfully. "One last kiss." She could taste the vampire's blood in her mouth. Her tongue wandered up to caress those adorable fangs, those fangs that made her so delightful and adorable, so endearing and charming. She didn't care that she felt a sting on the tip of her tongue, cutting as it did against the sharp edge of her undead lover's canine. Let their blood mingle. Let it unite in the most bosom fashion possible, so that this heartbreak could somehow be eased. "Whatever you want, beautiful, sweet, foolish Countess. Who am I trying to fool? Even after all this, I am nothing but your servant, your slave. I will give birth to a daughter, _for you_, so she can love you alone, and she will do the same with a granddaughter. We will _all_ be your slaves."

The vampire's eyelids flickered as she felt death beckoning her with its bony finger. Whatever sins she had committed, she hoped that God would understand that she never wished to hurt Satou like this. "Know this, huntress. You are my herald of the daylight star, my eternal pursuer of morningtide."

It was cold comfort. Tears flowed freely down Lady Satou's cheeks as she cradled the dying Countess in her arms.

"I love you, Shiori."

* * *

Satou Sei's shot open as she let out a cry of helpless grief. Her clammy hand was on her forehead, and she lifted it away in brief panic. She didn't know it at first, but after several moments she remembered she was lying on her mattress inside her stuffy, uncomfortable cabin, waiting to dock at English shores. She lay in her military uniform, having fallen asleep without bathing or changing. She felt groggy, but the vision she just had was as fresh as a lush spring in the forest.

_What the heck just happened_?

"Northfleet sighted!" came a sailor's cry. "England is in sight, boys! All hands on deck get ready!"

The shorthaired huntress hardly paid attention to the thumping of boots and shoes and shouts of excitement at her English patrons' homecoming. The ship's rocking was giving her a headache. "Dream… a dream, huh?" she groaned to herself. Her entire body was humid with sweat and grime.

_It's been an age since I saw something like this… I didn't catch this even when I was Rosa Gigantea_, she thought.

She gazed up at her raised hand, which was trembling slightly and moist with salty tears. Her face was damp. So she had been crying, too.

"Kubo Shiori…"

The Admiral of the Japanese Empire turned to her side and hugged herself. She gritted her teeth, her mind and heart in silent turmoil and confusion.

"Shiori…"

* * *

_London, Foreign Ministry. Cabinet Room_

"Satou Sei of the Empire of Greater Japan, reporting for duty by invitation from His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom, Edward VII."

Standing in a conference room that was at once spacious yet conservative, the fully uniformed Fleet Admiral presented herself before the signatories of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Lord Lansdowne and Viscount Hayashi Tadasu, who stood before her on behalf of the British royal family. They watched the prodigy vampire hunter closely, whose left breast pocket shimmered with honors. "Welcome to London, Satou-_gensui_. The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha welcomes most warmly the representatives of the Chrysanthemum Throne. Your services as former Rosa Gigantea of Tokyo Lillian College's White guild are the stuff of Arthurian myth, I daresay," said Lord Lansdowne.

"Thank you," acknowledged Sei artfully, her English a smooth, confident drawl.

"Congratulations on your rather… spectacular promotion. Quite staggering really, considering your youth. With your leadership, the nations of the West and our dominions will accord Greater Japan the respect she has always deserved."

"Isn't that like wishing I was a man so my love for women won't be socially inappropriate?" mused Sei. "I love girls by virtue of their own existence. In the same way, I have no approval to seek from any Western country." The vampire-hunting prodigy walked over and sat down on the tall chair at the head of the long, rectangular table. On the opposite side of the table, far across from the Japanese Admiral, sat a girl of her age with a prominent forehead and complacent eyes. Indeed, she and Sei were once equals, although after graduation they had both chosen different paths: Sei the military woman, and Torii Eriko the diplomat. The latter was dressed in a beautiful floral blouse, although it was slightly restrained by a skirt that draped conservatively past her knees. Behind Eriko stood a tall, silent figure in a khaki soldier's greatcoat, clutching a sheathed _katana_ by her side. Another, much shorter bodyguard also flanked Eriko but looked equally deadly with a black and white lace blouse, her long beautiful braids dangling freely and almost falling past her waist. Strapped to her belt was a semi-automatic pistol with a long barrel and a menacing, serrated blade. Their forms and garments were partially hidden by the chamber's dark shadows, but their eyes glowed with a sinister, red light that indicated that they were not fully human.

_Hasekura Rei, Shimazu Yoshino – Rosa Foetida and Rosa Foetida en bouton… so the elite of the elite have been called, too? Our trump cards, Lillian's greatest warriors_, thought Sei, who had recognized them instantly.

The men's weathered faces and experienced eyes reflected simultaneous respect and fear for the Rose guild members. Sure, the ministers were big names, but their pretty suits and eye-catching uniforms, as far as Sei was concerned, hid otherwise ugly male bodies that were hardly attractive, let alone fit to combat the undead. "You've called for this meeting because of important news, I trust," said Lansdowne, who moved to sit beside Hayashi. "Miss Ambassador Torii Eriko, emissary of Tokyo Lillian College to the United Kingdom."

"Bloodsuckers," began Eriko lazily, her elbows on the table as she leaned forward assertively. Despite being only nineteen, she had already developed a taste for cigars from the British companies in India and South Asia, and Rosa Foetida's gloved hand reached forward and flipped open the lid of a lighter case. Allowing the tip to burn, Eriko breathed out a puff of smoke as her eyes met Sei's. "As we all know, Admiral Sei's work has been oh-so-_admirable_ in purging Greater Japan of all vampires. So it's sorely amusing that everyone refers to London as the flashpoint of the world's undead activities. Hardly a boast: it simply means you can't take care of the problem yourself. Splendid leaf though, I'll give you that."

Lansdowne shifted uncomfortably. "Surely the Anglo-Japanese Alliance is proof that the Crown sees eye-to-eye with your nation and Emperor," he assured hastily.

"Eriko-chan," reprimanded the more discreet Hayashi, who was well aware of the former Yellow Rose's blunt tongue and imperious attitude. Sometimes, he wasn't sure she made the best ambassador for Japanese interests. "Let us discuss what you came to share with us."

"Sei," called Eriko defiantly, and Sei snickered. The men looked rather confused, and Sei reached into the leather briefcase she had brought with her. She clicked it open and held up a slightly crumpled folder containing diplomatic secrets exchanged between Tokyo Lillian College and the British Royal Army.

"Sexy vampires. Unfortunately, ugly ones are more common and have started to claim an unacceptably high number of lives in your capital. We believe the sexy vampires are in control of the ugly ones, and that the seductive kind pose as high-ranking members of society – businessmen, politicians, military personnel, religious leaders – which actually betrays their corresponding rank in undead society. I still remember that time I was on an exchange trip to Queen's. Before we set sail for home, I exterminated a ghoul colony lurking underneath St. Paul's. Turns out one of the Reverends there was a vampire, and his choice to masquerade as a cleric reflected his role in the demonic world to be a priestly one. It was quite logical his army would be of a congregational nature." Sei looked at Lansdowne. "Their strategy doesn't seem to have changed."

"So the undead who have infiltrated the Army as officers… their minions would have access to our weapons, then!" said Lansdowne in realization.

"Of course," shrugged Sei. "Because their closest prey are your soldiers. Vampires who masquerade as statesmen or aristocrats will have their own spheres of influence amongst Britain's elite, and I shudder to think where all that money's going if there are some wealthy businessmen who are actually in thrall…"

"Are you saying there's a chain of command? An hierarchy of undead?"

"Just who is at the top, we do not know," said Eriko. Rei's boyish, narrow eyes gleamed like twin blades in the shadows. Yoshino's irises were tinged with a deeper red, as if stained with blood and hankering for more. "But we know that our mutual enemies are not the random bloodsuckers easily put down by a one-off mission from our soeurs. They are, at least by our estimation, far more organized. But if you wish to keep this quiet, it would be best not to involve the Royal Army and just leave it to our guilds. After all, you need someone to do your dirty work for you, no?"

Sei pointed at a small photo that had been paperclipped to the top sheet of the secret dossier. The subject in the slightly worn print was a Japanese woman in a coat, a beautiful girl with mesmeric eyes and elegantly cut hair. Her expression was mild and alluring, if a bit distant. "Kanina Shizuka. Her pseudonym is Rosa Canina. She was a key leader in the vampire faction back home until I brought an end to their race. Shimako and Noriko believe that she escaped, and is probably traveling around Europe gathering support from politicians, religious, business and military leaders for a new war against humanity. The incentive she is giving these greedy, deceitful men is, of course, that commodity only vampires possess. Eternal life. If you want this coming war to shift in our favor, it is essential you give me clearance to hunt this woman down."

Lansdowne nodded cautiously. "So we know they have infiltrated the country's administrative, military and commercial levels," he confirmed, his face wrinkled in concern. "And from what you say, this Kanina Shizuka is their leader."

Eriko looked at the ministers. "As much as I hate to admit it, you were wise to request the British Crown to recall all three guilds. And here I was, looking forward to university after graduating from Lillian. But now we stand on the precipice of a Great War against vampires. This will make your Boer Wars look like good-hearted food fights."

"Kanina Shizuka may not be the entire story," echoed an unexpected female voice. Hayashi and Lansdowne jumped at the disembodied words, which continued to echo throughout the room. But it suddenly became clearer, as a girl garbed in black materialized through the wall beside the door to the Cabinet War Room. Her jet-black blouse, long skirt, and stylish lace bonnet – Mizuno Youko's arms were spread, her right hand clutching her long, gnarled wand. "This is bigger than just one smart vampire. I can sense that someone is pulling the strings."

"Oh, you again, Youko," noted Eriko nonchalantly.

Youko ignored the ex-Yellow Rose, but nodded at Rei and Yoshino, who returned the acknowledgement politely. Then she looked at Sei, whose eyes were wide in surprise. "Long time no see, Sei. You're not a good pen friend," said the enchantress wryly.

Sei raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to welcome me to London?" she retorted smoothly.

Youko's irises glimmered, and the air was pregnant with some kind of unspoken emotion. "Welcome to the English capital, Admiral."

"Who – who are you?" cried Lansdowne over their sarcastic greeting.

"Rest easy," said Sei casually. "She's the former Red Rose of the Chinensis guild, a sorceress who could demolish this whole city. So I suggest you put the pistol away," she snorted, glancing at the Foreign Minister, who had drawn his revolver. "You can't touch her with mere metal. I mean, she just walked through a wall. Take a hint."

A mortified Hayashi sighed, putting a hand on his aching head. "This is a rather inappropriate time, Youko-chan. As meritorious as your work has been, you girls do not have free reign to do as you please and embarrass me. Sei-kun, can you not at least restrain your former schoolmate at these secret state meetings?"

"But good Viscount, I just came to see how the British representative intended to deal with us, and I must say I'm not impressed or charmed," smirked Youko. "Britain's generals may have more experience than our new Admiral here, but she earned her stars by waging a one-woman war against vampires. Why else is our homeland completely safe from the abominations?"

"In any case, let us continue with the discussion," said Hayashi, but Sei had risen from her seat, smirking yet again.

"Excuse us, Hayashi-sama, Lord Lansdowne. Youko and I have other matters to attend to."

"But we're about to plan in earnest the war against the vampires!" protested Lansdowne.

"It was Eriko who chaired this meeting, not me," laughed Sei dismissively. "I don't need useless conferences to waste my time when I could be thinking up my own awesome strategies for victory. That, and I told you I want to drop by Queen's and say hi to my fans." She looked at Eriko. "Poor fellas. Sorry for dumping them with you, Eriko."

"Get out of here," scoffed Eriko.

Sei laughed at Hayashi and Lansdowne's dismayed faces as she pushed open the door, walking out and leaving the men to their pointless meetings and forums. "Youko," she called. The witch smiled and followed her lead, albeit through the wall. Her immaterial form disappeared as suddenly as she had come.

"Are you sure you don't need to hear what we might have to say about the vampires?" asked Hayashi, who had long ago given up trying to control the guilds' girls. Really, it was a headache working with them.

Sei didn't turn around as she closed the door behind her, for her expression was not as friendly as she would have preferred. "Just you watch. Just as no woman can resist me, neither will the world, nor this age of history."

* * *

_Four hours later. Trafalgar Square_

Standing by Nelson's Column and dressed in her aristocratic vest, frilled shirt and tight trousers and boots, Sachiko waited, her arms crossed as her cane sword rested against the cool stone of the monument. The afternoon skies were their usual grey, and the wind rustled at Sachiko's tailcoat as she turned to look at the tall figure approaching her from the steps leading to the majestic National Gallery. "Rei," she acknowledged coolly. "Have you been well?"

"Sachiko," smiled Rei, nodding. She looked quite the soldier in her dull-colored, double-breasted greatcoat. "It's been a while."

"Did you enjoy training in Siberia?"

"Not Siberia. It was the Arctic this time." Rosa Foetida's eyes glowed as she gazed at her equal and friendly rival. "Perhaps we can enjoy a more thorough reunion over a cup of tea. For now, business awaits." She looked across from Nelson's Column, where a similarly tall figure approached them. From her starry eyes and silken black hair, it was obvious who she was. Sachiko was impressed that the enemy had begun to move this early. "Kanina Shizuka," growled Rei. "She dares to reveal herself to us now? She who tried to usurp Shimako's rightful position as heir to Sei-sama? Her insidious plots to replace humanity with bloodsucking fiends would be quite admirable for their ingenuity, if not for their evil."

"Easy, Rei," chided Sachiko, "for your own father was a vampire too. You enjoy your supernatural strength thanks to him, no? Yet your kindness and concern for others betrays your mother's blood."

The half-undead shrugged. "Yoshino, in contrast, has inherited her human father's courage and her undead mother's ferocity." She glared at the figure of their enemy. "Enough chatter. Let's deal with this and snuff out the evil stalking London."

Lillian College's two elite warriors slowly walked over to Shizuka as the latter stood on her own in the middle of the square. Her slim, beige coat billowing in the wind, the sensuous woman with tall boots and fringed shirt smiled as the Red and Yellow Rose neared her. She refused to budge from her position as they advanced menacingly, stopping only when they had planted themselves inches from her face, glaring threateningly into her dancing eyes. Sachiko's grip tightened on the rose-shaped pommel of her cane sword, while Rei's thumb ever so delicately pushed the guard of her _katana_, nudging the blade out from its sheath.

Shizuka opened her mouth to speak, and the moment her fangs were visible, Sachiko and Rei had drawn their swords in a flash of light, with Rei's _katana_ severing Shizuka's legs and Sachiko slicing off Shizuka's head. Two explosions of gore flooded onto the cool ground as Shizuka's torso sloughed off her falling lower body, which collapsed before the staring face that rested in a pool of blood.

"Wise but cowardly. It will take more than two cuts to destroy me. Surely you knew that – we've fought before."

That voice… it was the most beautiful, entrancing voice one could ever hear. Rei stared at the talking, bloodstained head as Shizuka's cold lips curled into an unnerving smile. Her sultry, shimmering eyes began to glow as she opened her mouth to speak, only to have her tongue overrun with grey, crawling worms that flooded like water past her gums and teeth, spilling onto the grounds of Trafalgar Square and visibly squirming around and underneath Shizuka's head. To Sachiko and Rei's utter revulsion, Shizuka nonchalantly continued to talk as the maggots wriggled and writhed towards her headless body, bearing the smiling head on their nauseating forms as they twisted and slid wetly along the ground. "Only the girls of the Gigantea guild could put me to flight while I was in Japan. I'm not about to be defeated by you of the Foetida and Chinensis. I trust you had a most productive chat with the ministers. Unfortunately, for every man of integrity there are five who would do anything to have eternal life and power."

"A true _bakemono_," whispered Sachiko, stepping back instinctively. The worms were visibly reattaching Shizuka's head to her bleeding neck, and a dark cloud, like black calligraphic ink, was enveloping Shizuka's legs as the wriggling larvae now hurriedly reattached Shizuka's cut pelvis to her lower limbs. And from the black cloud, Shizuka's shapely hand emerged, clutching a pistol with a long, sinister barrel. Rosa Foetida shouted out a warning, and Sachiko bolted as the regenerating vampire pulled the trigger, firing at the fleeing huntress. Rei lowered her body, tensed her legs, and sprung into the air, spinning in mid-flight before lashing out with a deadly roundhouse kick that pulverized newly regenerating Shizuka's torso, collapsing it into a mush of blood, bone and tissue. But Shizuka healed once more, this time at a quicker pace, grey and green maggots quickly reforming into her body as she continued to fire at Sachiko, who rolled away again and took cover behind the sputtering fountain. Rosa Chinensis whipped up and discharged several bullets at Rosa Canina, forcing the other to dodge and retreat from Rei's swinging sword. Rei thrust into Shizuka's shoulder, piercing into her coat and shoulder. But Shizuka smiled as worms of black smoke crawled out of her wound and began to writhe along the edge of the blade, towards Rei's hands.

The Yellow Rose's eyes widened. "Impossible. This _katana_ was forged from the metal of St. Paul's Cathedral's bells. What kind of monster could withstand this holy power?"

Shizuka raised her gun and pointed it at Rei's chest. "If you refuse to release your sword, then I will shoot you down."

Rei swore. She had been complacent and now she was about to pay the price. Sachiko shouted out a warning, but was forced aside as a brilliant white light hurtled past her, making directly for Rei and Shizuka. For the first time, Shizuka's eyes betrayed concern, and her grubs fell off the sword as she pulled herself away from Rei's blade and skidded back from the white light that was coalescing before Rosa Foetida and illuminating Trafalgar Square. Those twisting, fractal rays of divine glare began to visibly solidify into bone, cartilage, muscles, blood vessels, skin and pearly-white silk and cloth – before revealing a flowing river of rich hair and haunting silver eyes.

"Shimako-chan!" cried Sachiko.

"So the Roses have reunited," murmured Shizuka.

"Todou Shimako of Gigantea," announced the White Rose briskly, as her crouched body materialized completely. She was rather out of place in her frilly blouse and schoolgirl shoes, and looked more like the daughter of a wealthy family than a fighter. But Shizuka knew of her powers when fighting her in Japan: she would take no chances. The vampire lunged and dashed towards her, raising her gun and setting off several shots. Shimako stood her ground calmly and shifted to evade the screaming bullets. Sachiko fired Vermillion at the sprinting Shizuka, although the latter was much too fast. As she approached Rosa Gigantea, the Pink Rose raised her fingers, and sickly green larvae began to bubble and gurgle from under her nails –

The White Rose raised her hand to block. Shizuka, Sachiko and Rei were blinded by another blaze of celestial brilliance from Shimako as sacred and infernal struck against one another. After a few seconds, the Red Rose lowered her hand, gazing at the two struggling girls. Holy energy spilled from Shimako's hands as an ornate shield, formed from the heavenly spheres and decorated with Trinitarian motifs, materialized along her forearm. The white maggots slipped and slid powerlessly off the shining platinum.

Shizuka stared at Shimako as their eyes met. Except that Shimako's pupil-less, iridescent eyes were now encased in a helm of cherubic metal, her long hair and face hidden by a metal mask crafted by heavenly artisans. It was of a cubic shape, and from its crown billowed ethereal, wispy feathers.

"The armor of God…" hissed Shizuka, her burnt hand shaking as dying worms fell uncontrollably away from her scarred forearm. "Its elusive, literal form alluded to in Paul's epistle to the Ephesians… Yet you won't encase your entire body with that light this time?"

Rosa Gigantea's free hand clutched a knuckleduster, its intimidating spikes made from the creative fire of the cherubim. The wincing Shizuka was too late to evade Shimako's brutal haymaker, and her cheekbone cracked and collapsed as Shimako pushed forward with all her strength and the weight of her shield. The vampire tumbled along the ground, ending up in a painful sprawl, her smoking head taking far longer to heal. Shimako peered at Shizuka through her knight's visor, watching the vampire struggle to rise. Her knuckleduster was dissolving into holy light, and reforming, elongating into the shape of a double-edged sword. Shizuka struggled up, adjusting her bloodstained, ruffled coat and wiping the gore from her face. "Oh my. I can't defeat you like this, let alone when Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida are here to support you. I shudder to think what I'd do if Sei-sama was coming."

"Are you fleeing?" challenged Rei, as she glimpsed a black taxicab, one of the first of the motor-powered kind in London, racing towards Shizuka from the edge of the road near the National Gallery, crashing past the stone steps and pavement reserved for pedestrians. It crashed past the west wing of the landmark, screeching towards the square and hissing to a stop before the vampire. Her sharpened eyes could see the face of its driver – an everyday driver, most likely completely innocent. Unfortunately, his dead eyes and rotting hands on the wheel betrayed his bewitchment at Shizuka's hands. "And you had to brainwash a poor bystander to make your cowardly retreat."

"Kill her!" snapped Sachiko, running for the taxi and shooting at it. Shizuka had already stepped into the passenger's seat, slamming close the door. Vermillion's bullets dented the car but did little else. "We must topple her here. She's controlling the others!"

The Pink Rose blinked before realizing what Sachiko was implying. "Your mistake is to think that I am the mistress of all this," she called, gesturing with a hand. "You could destroy me today and nothing would be resolved. In time, you will learn."

Even Shimako realized that Rosa Canina would live to fight another day, as her armor slowly dissolved and melted away into the cool air, leaving nothing to remain. She was now covered in nothing save her frilly dress. She was slightly out of breath, although her face was calm as she watched her dark rival flee Trafalgar Square, defeated but unbowed.

The three Roses turned to look at each other.

"The Pink Rose. This vampire is behind these renewed attacks in London," said Rei, sheathing her Japanese sword. "But did you hear what she said? She's just admitted that this is bigger than her."

Sachiko nodded at her equals, the leading Yamayurikai huntresses of Lillian College. Her eyes glinted at simultaneous satisfaction at victory and frustration for failing to slay their prey. "We could only manage to force Shizuka-san back with Shimako's help. We're fortunate that she didn't bring her legions of undead. She must be reserving them for a more important battle.

"This is urgent. We need to convene a meeting tonight and draft a strategy to deal with Shizuka and her minions in London."

* * *

_Late evening. Number 9, Lilyston Square_

On her apartment's doorstep, Sachiko felt her brow twitching in irritation. She closed her eyes as she struggled to keep calm. "When I called for a meeting this afternoon, I did not mean for everyone to crash my unit for a sleepover, especially when I stressed that I have no space."

"Orgy wooooo!" came Sei's maddening voice from the rear of the soeur cohort.

"Enough, Admiral," snapped Sachiko, losing her temper. She twisted her key irately, visualizing it to be a gag and the lock to be Sei's mouth. "I am tired and cranky and hardly in the mood to entertain so many of you. A cup of hot tea is all you're getting. Nothing more." Youko and Eriko made no secret of their amusement, smiling at each other. At least Shimako and Noriko had the good manners to look uncomfortable, but Rei and Yoshino didn't look like they cared. Sachiko pushed opened the door to her apartment. "I can't believe you'd presume to stay over on such short notice. Hang your coats on that rack over there."

The sisters of the Yamayurikai flooded from the porch into the comfortable but modestly sized home, looking around and taking in the Persian carpet on the dark wooden floor, the ornate ceiling that was high in some parts and low in others, the dusty, tall bookshelves with their English books and forgotten newspapers, and the vampire in the living room.

Wait, vampire?

"Onee-sama, welcome home!" called Yumi, waving and bounding off the comfortable sofa. "Can I make you some hot chocolate?" Her undead eyes glimmered crimson. She was dressed in her blue night blouse, and she had let her damp hair down, having just bathed. The soeur hunters stopped in their tracks and stared at Yumi, who stared back, aghast.

"And who are you, little lady?" said Sei slyly.

"Um… good evening?" squeaked Yumi, shocked to see so many uniformed girls behind a fuming Sachiko.

"Here we go," sighed Youko.

The Red Rose hurried over to her vampire lover, practically stomping on the floor and planting herself in front of Yumi, hands on hips. "You can't keep a secret even on day one," huffed Sachiko crossly, even though she knew it was hardly Yumi's fault. She had already woken up; it was only natural that she would be out of the bedroom. But still, Sachiko couldn't help blaming her. "Why didn't you stay in our room!" she cried in frustration. "Now the Foetida and Gigantea guilds know of my transgression and your existence!"

Oh, why did the soeurs have to come tonight without warning?

"Onee-sama?" blurted Yumi. "What's going on?" Yoshino and Rei were staring at her, and the three ex-Roses were clearly smiling. Admiral, diplomat, and sorceress could only watch fondly as Sachiko shot them a glare and Rei simply placed a hand on Yoshino's shoulder. "Are… you… are you the guilds of Foetida and Gigantea?" sputtered Yumi. "My name is… is Fukusawa Yumi… I am Rosa Chinensis en bouton… I think…"

"You've been keeping her here?" said Rei in concern, and Sachiko inwardly winced.

"You do realize you're breaking a basic rule of the Yamayurikai guilds," said Eriko offhandedly, examining a nail.

"But why wouldn't she?" laughed Sei, elbowing an annoyed Youko and Eriko out of the way as she made her way to stand beside Sachiko. "Who cares about vampire hunting when we've got such a cute one here?"

Sachiko whipped around and glared daggers at Sei as Yumi quickly bowed. She felt slightly intimidated and her heart was pounding in the midst of all these flawless, uniformed girls, but she would have to make the most of her situation. She would rather die than embarrass her onee-sama. "It's my honor to meet you. From your bearing, you must be the Fleet Admiral onee-sama described. Onee-sama told me all about your exploits in Japan," she declared. She bowed again. "_Konbanwa_, Satou Sei-sama."

_More like I warned you about her_, thought Sachiko to herself darkly.

Sei's grey eyes were deep, so deep that Yumi could positively swim in them. "Please, call me Sei-san," murmured the senior. "So you're a vampire who has chosen to side with human beings?"

"Yumi-san, is it?" said Yoshino awkwardly, and Yumi nodded. Shimako and Noriko simply smiled tentatively at Yumi, unsure of what to do. Each of the soeurs had been taught and trained with the principle that vampires were enemies. Yet if Rosa Chinensis had been keeping one such "enemy" under her roof all this time… perhaps there were exceptions. The mood was no longer tense or awkward, but gave off an air of curiosity, and indeed the huntresses were all very inquisitive about this vampire called Yumi, who was admittedly unusually pretty and feminine for one.

"I don't know, but I trust her," said Yoshino, smiling at a surprised Yumi. "If Rosa Chinensis has been keeping her for so long, I don't see why she would be of any real danger to us."

The witch Youko simply nodded, enjoying watching her apprentice in the spotlight. "You know me, Sachiko. I never presumed to judge your decision. As long as you made it of your own free will, then I have nothing to say."

"I couldn't care what Sachiko-chan does, frankly," shrugged Eriko. "As long as Yumi-chan is on our side – that is, on the side of humanity and on the side of Greater Japan – And I suppose I have no right to complain about using demonic forces to fight the undead, since I have Rei and Yoshino."

"Hmm." Sei's irises twinkled as she slowly neared Yumi, leaning closer to observe the undead. Yumi shuffled her bare feet bashfully as she felt Sei's eyes wander over her, caress her, pull at her blouse, stroke her soft, slim limbs –

"Sei-sama!" cried Sachiko. "Have you trained your eyes to visually molest others?"

"You're just jealous my eyes can express so much," said Sei, watching Yumi blush uncontrollably. Yumi didn't want to fall into Sei's spell, and it was truly extraordinary that a human being's charms could outdo that of a vampire's – but the Admiral's charisma and sheer personality was simply mesmeric, even to an undead. "I don't see why we can't have her. After all, she is a vampire. Indeed, using her against her own kind seems to be a good strategy."

"_We_, Sei-sama?" sniffed Sachiko. "I beg your pardon, but Yumi is my charge. I won't let you say to her the same things you say to the girls at Queen's. Even if you are Admiral."

"Scared that Yumi will get tickled by my sweet tongue, Rosa Chinensis?" laughed Sei. "Yumi-chan, we're guests here. Why don't you prepare us some tea?"

"Please," said Shimako, stepping in. The angel could always tell when Sei was teasing or just being plain mean. "Noriko and I will do that." The ninja, whose combat garb was hidden in a dark coat, nodded obediently and opened her mouth to ask Sachiko the direction of the kitchen. But before she could do so, her grande soeur's onee-sama had grabbed Yumi's waist, pulling her close. The vampire let out a squeal as she felt the Admiral's hot breath on the nape of her neck. Rosa Foetida looked away and Yoshino and Noriko sighed. Shimako could only smile indulgently as she guided Noriko past them, to find the pantry. "And here you go again, onee-sama, always running off with whoever catches your eye. You haven't changed at all."

"Admiral," said Sachiko in a dead-quiet voice. "Take your hands off my petite soeur. Were I a bouton, I might have minced my words with you. Not now. I am Rosa Chinensis. Release Rosa Chinensis en bouton at once."

"Help, onee-sama!" cried Yumi, as the shorthaired senior ignored Sachiko and carried on tormenting her. How could a human being fluster her so? She could feel the ex-White Rose's hands cheekily making their way down her collarbone, stroking at her neck and shoulders. How hard would it have been to say no to the Admiral? Yet, for some frustrating reason, she couldn't. It was as if there was an unspoken rule – no one denied Sei the things she wanted. "Please…"

The former White Rose laughed in pleased triumph, watching Sachiko's hand slowly move for her sheathed sword. "Alright, alright. I give," she conceded. She reluctantly released the shaken vampire and stepped back. "You are so possessive. The best things in life should be shared," she declared, winking at Yumi, who fidgeted again, simultaneously flattered and uncomfortable.

"She is mine and mine alone," said Sachiko, and Yumi blushed in pride and embarrassment. "If you don't respect the wishes of your host, you are more than welcome to leave."

"Now, that should be enough," interrupted Shimako, who was carrying a tray of warm tea. The soeurs turned to her and Noriko, relieved that the apartment wasn't about to become a battlefield. "Let us begin in earnest our plans for deploying against Shizuka-sama." She glanced at Yumi. "And Rosa Chinensis en bouton is welcome to join us, if she would like to join our fight with the undead too."

"I can?" said Yumi eagerly. "But I'm a vampire. That is what I've always feared… that onee-sama and her colleagues might have reservations about me."

"Yumi!" cried Sachiko. "Are you sure about this sudden decision? Why didn't you discuss this with me earlier?"

"You're a vampire, but you're a bouton first and foremost. Just as Eriko-sama accepted Rosa Foetida and Yoshino-san, it is only a step further to welcome a full-fledged vampire who would stand with us." Shimako looked positively saintly as she shone (almost too brightly). "Sachiko-sama. Please let Yumi be part of our Yamayurikai. You took her in first. Now let our garden of roses grow."

* * *

"So they've gone out for a walk," breathed Sachiko, allowing herself to ease onto the couch. Yumi sat across from her, her knees pulled up to her chest as she watched her mistress fume about the soeurs' impertinence and Sei's shenanigans. Rosa Chinensis glared at the empty teacups. "I'm exhausted."

Yumi giggled. "You really treasure them. Why else would you put them up for the night? A sleepover sounds so fun."

"Well, it was my word against… all of them. Not even I can be bothered." Rosa Chinensis looked piercingly at Yumi. "And now those girls are going to be snoring away in this drawing room. Piled on top of each other, I daresay. I'm locking you up in our bedroom. I'm not letting Sei-sama come anywhere near you. And be careful when you use the bathroom. She might ambush you there."

"There's no need to be so worried, onee-sama," laughed Yumi. "She's a bit perverted, but I can tell that her heart is made of gold."

Sachiko bristled. It was not easy, to hear her own bouton compliment Sei so. "Easy for you to say. I asked Shimako to be my soeur first, yet Sei-sama took her from me. I don't want her stealing anyone else, especially you who are so much more important to me." She turned away. "But of course. You're a vampire. Of course a single human girl can never satisfy you."

"Onee-sama! That guilt-trip was uncalled for," chastised Yumi, pouting. But rather than seeking to defend herself with a long oration about her unwavering devotion, she simply crawled forward; her smiling lips proposing to kiss. Still sitting at the couch's edge, the sometimes anxious and self-doubting Sachiko closed her eyes and let Yumi come to her. As they kissed each other tenderly, their radiance outshone even the moon outside Number 9, Lilyston Square.

"What a nice night."

* * *

**Next chapter: The mystery deepens as the soeurs struggle to corner Shizuka. Who is commanding the undead? Will they find the answer once they catch Rosa Canina? Or does the answer lie much, much closer than they think? **

* * *

_Lillian College Student Register: The Foetida Guild_

Name: Hasekura Rei  
Rank: Rosa Foetida  
Weapon/s: Rei wields a _katana_ melted and forged from the metal of the bells in St. Paul's Cathedral.  
Profile: Trained on the islands of Okinawa and the tundra of Siberia, Rei is the elite adjutant and bodyguard of the former Yellow Rose. A half-vampire, Rei has inherited the physical power of her undead father and the gentle kindness of her human mother. Her dedication to the Foetida is extraordinary. Her protectiveness over her cousin and petite soeur, Yoshino, is uncompromising. While lacking the more complex abilities of vampirism such as flight or invisibility, she can still leap mind-bogglingly long distances, perform impossible acrobatics and sprint with superhuman speed. Aside from her extraordinary healing powers and strength, Rei is unmatched in the art of classical kenjutsu. She shares a professional friendship and rivalry with Sachiko, and together they are the best swordfighters of Lillian College. Because of the vampire blood in her veins, she must feed on blood occasionally, but can survive off small doses.

Name: Shimazu Yoshino  
Rank: Rosa Foetida en bouton  
Weapon/s: Yoshino uses a Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol with an extended barrel. She also wields a serrated war blade dipped in holy water.  
Profile: The daughter of an undead mother and human father, Yoshino has inherited the unwavering loyalty of her human parent and the feral hunger of her mother. She is very possessive of Rei and wields a strong emotional sway over her cousin. She is the worst enemy one can suffer, but also the best friend one can enjoy. Yoshino doesn't tolerate hostility to her, but is quickly accepting of new allies like Yumi. She is dainty and weak on the outside, but inside prowls an excellent fighter, trained also in Siberia and on Okinawa, who can engage entire battalions with her combined semi-automatic and serrated long blade. Because of the vampire blood pulsing through her she must feed on human blood, but she can do this on fewer occasions than Yumi and with smaller servings.

Name: Torii Eriko  
Rank: Former Rosa Foetida, currently Tokyo Lillian College's ambassador to the United Kingdom  
Weapon/s: Unknown.  
Profile: The diplomatic face of the huntress guilds, Eriko is intelligent, astute, and perceptive. She is also pompous, pretentious, and complacent. To her, perfection comes at a high price – and that price is the realization that everyone else around her is just not good enough, be they human or vampire. Her rival is still Sei, that annoying military genius – but even after her graduation, Eriko has her politics well under control, with Rosa Foetida as devoted to her as ever and Yoshino as jealous. She acts as the bridge between Tokyo Lillian College and the British Foreign Ministry, overseeing the joint anti-vampire operations conducted in the UK.

* * *

Name: Todou Shimako  
Rank: Rosa Gigantea  
Weapon/s: "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11).  
Profile: With her arrival in London and a new conflict against Shizuka, Shimako has revealed the Todou family's healing powers as one of the most formidable of the soeurs. In return for her piety and devotion, Shimako has been granted divine light from Heaven that she can shape and craft to her will. From swords and lances to shields and suits of armour, Rosa Gigantea is limited only by her imagination, and these weapons made from holy light burn with a vampire-killing intensity even stronger than the blessed metal of Sachiko and Rei's weapons.

* * *

Name: Kanina Shizuka  
Rank: Rosa Canina  
Weapons: A pistol of unknown qualities, undead maggots.  
Profile: Suspected to be the main commander of the recent surge in vampiric activity, Rosa Canina is a beautiful lady of dignified import. Hailing from Japan, she fled the Empire during the last days of the vampires and now travels around Europe gathering support for her mysterious plan. Little is known about her aside from the fact that she possesses incredible vampiric powers, able to survive even the blessed metal of the Roses with her revolting repertoire of undead larvae. There are rumors that she is actually serving an even higher mistress…


	4. A Polyphonic River of Blood

**Chapter 4**

**A Polyphonic River of Blood  
**

* * *

Thanks for checking out Rose and Fang again! (n_n) Thanks to insomniac1970 for kindly pointing out my misspellings of soeur (which I was spelling as "souer"). I have applied the changes to the current chapters. Luckily we're only on chapter 4!~ o.o

Chinensis, Foetida, and Gigantea – these three guilds form the Yamayurikai hunters of Tokyo Lillian College. A Rose (a powerful vampire huntress) commands each guild, supported by not only their boutons or petite soeurs, but also former Roses or graduates of Lillian. The reunited guilds' war against Shizuka continues in earnest as London falls deeper into the shadow of the vampire conflict. It is clear that Rosa Canina is, by her own admission, a small part of a greater plan, but at present there are no clues leading to the shadowy commander of this "greater plan." The only option the soeurs can see is to corner Shizuka and force the answer out of her…

Please R&R but most importantly enjoy! \(^o^)/

* * *

It was a cold, cloudy afternoon. The supreme commander of Imperial Japan's invincible sea force sat on a lonely bench in the middle of Russell Square gardens, chewing quietly on a stale mustard sandwich. Several weeks had passed since her arrival in the English capital. It was Sei's break day, and she had visited the British Museum earlier in the morning. Tomorrow night there was to be a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall. She had been invited to attend as a distinguished guest, occupying the high booth with Viscount Hayashi, Lord Lansdowne and the other two former Roses. It was already decided that the incumbent Roses would be seated in the second best spots, close to the peerless musicians of the_ Accademia Filarmonica Romana_, or Rome Philharmonic Orchestra. Until then, she had nothing to do. She had thought about sneaking into Sachiko's house to ambush the sleeping vampire Yumi, and also briefly toyed with the idea of tracking down her old Queen's College admirers. She wondered how the students were doing. She hadn't seen them since her brief trip to London a year ago. How had they moved on since graduation, and were the younger ones ripening into beautiful flowers too?

The bored Admiral turned her head to see black, elegant shoes crinkling the yellow and red leaves that covered the grass and pathway. Trees loomed above the bonneted girl who gazed at her. Sei smiled as she tossed away the crust of her bread. "Just like old times, Youko. I must say though, these gardens are pretty different to Lillian's, no?"

"Sei," said the witch, whose eyes were shining. "Satou Sei."

The Admiral smiled at Youko's quiet intonation of her name, standing to dust the crumbs away from her hands. "I must say, it was a surprise to find you here in London. I had to keep myself from showing my shock when you came to our meeting at the Foreign Ministry."

"You're not the only one with attachments here. You have your girls at Queen's. I have Sachiko. And I would like to think that you have me, and I have you."

Sei's lip curled. "Don't be so willful," she said, switching from Japanese to her drawling, beguiling English. For some reason, speaking in a different language made her snub feel sharper. How could someone who looked so kind and wise sound so cruel?

Youko's lip curled too. Sometimes she thought about giving up such outrageous demands. How dare she even dream of the great Satou Sei loving her? Who did Youko, worm that she was, presume to be? Insanity! Surely she should be grateful for the occasional kiss that Sei condescended to bless her with – all the while "accidentally" whispering that accursed name every single time, "Shiori." Surely Youko should just shut up (and shut up she mercifully did when Sei imagined her to be someone she wasn't), and understand that she had _so_ much more important things than to worry about her obstinate lovesickness. Yes, so insignificant was Youko that Sei was far more preoccupied with the schoolgirls at Queen's (after all, buxom, eager-to-please English girls were so much better than a plain and lonely Japanese witch) and perhaps now Yumi too. Well! Who was she to complain about caring? After all, she was just a troublemaker. She would always be just a busybody, a fussy, aunt-like figure who, as far as Sei bothered to care, belonged to the spinster club. She could look and touch, but she was never seen or touched in return.

"You and I were the greatest hunters of the old generation. Now, we have the pleasure of watching Shimako and Sachiko surpass us. The least we can do is not grow rusty." Youko blinked, snapping out of her rueful thoughts. Sei grinned and withdrew her revolver, Forest of Thorns, from its holster. "Shall we, my partner-in-crime? We have some time to reenact the old days."

Youko revealed her birch wand. It was true that they were comrades in every sense of the word, and they had been inseparable in their school years. But now, things were different. "We should be hunting vampires, not dueling."

Forest of Thorns' long barrel gleamed. "Do you really think your black magic will work against the thorns of the Son of God?" asked Sei, her eyes twinkling.

"Don't be arrogant," snorted Youko. "Who was the one who helped you to duplicate the original thorns of Christ's crown? How about some gratitude for once?" Suddenly feeling rather annoyed, she waved her wand, and three screaming balls of fire suddenly materialized in front of her. The park's rustling leaves were sent scattering away from the immediate vicinity around Youko, and nearby piles of autumn flora were scorched into burning bushes. "I tire of your arrogance, Sei! You never learn. You haven't changed in the three years we studied together!" The fireballs hissed and sped towards Sei, who smiled and aimed her revolver at the ground. She fired once, and a thorn bullet lodged itself in the grass. Just as Youko's flaming orbs neared Sei's body, a tall wall of vines and thickets shot up in front of the Admiral, growing and taking root at a supernatural pace. The fireballs slammed into the wall of thorns and vines, fizzing out ineffectually as Sei whipped into sight from behind her barrier. She fired – but not at Youko. Two thorns pierced into two tall oak trees looming over the witch, and they began to stir, animated by the holy magic of the Son of God's life giving powers. They responded to the call of the Savior's projectiles and groaned; forming misshapen limbs, and shifted to lumber toward the shocked sorceress.

"Someone's going to write a book out of this one day," gloated Sei, as the living trees reached menacingly for Youko with their long branches. The Chinensis witch made an extravagant flourish with her wand, her dainty hand pressing on her bonnet. From her silent spell exploded a mighty stream of fire that forced the animated oaks back, and their groans were ancient and slurred. A sphere of crackling energy expanded around her, and the thunderous power surged upwards to form a magical lightning bolt that shot into one of the trees. Its torn and ripped bark gave a creaking, drawn-out moan, and it staggered back, losing balance and toppling towards the ground. As a mighty _boom_ shook Russell Square and sent a thousand leaves leaping into the air, Youko repeated her spell, pointing her wand at the remaining tree, and the vortex around her channeled itself into an electric current that streamed towards the magical oak, tearing it apart cruelly as it fell towards the grass and gravel.

Another mighty tremor rattled the park.

The sorceress immediately spun around, hurling a ball of glacial ice at Sei with her free hand while her humming wand shot out a new bolt of chain lightning. The Admiral continued firing, vines from three thorn bullets wrapping themselves around the orb of rime until the projectile exploded into oblivion. She ran, lightning snapping at her feet as she sprinted around Youko. She fired at the ground, and supernatural vines exploded from the grass beneath her boots to form a tall, ever-growing dais, carrying her up high above the ground and away from the trajectory of Youko's mystical projectiles. Sei grinned as she went on one knee, brushing back her hair as the vine platform changed direction and rumbled loudly towards the witch. Youko shouted out another spell as the ground before her went up in sizzling flames, forcing the tower of vines to stop before her. Seeing the barrier, the Admiral leaped down from the vine platform, hurling herself at the former Red Rose. Ignoring the flames that singed her coat and licked at her trousers, she tackled the stunned Youko, and they rolled angrily along the grass and leaves, struggling and tussling hotly against each other's sweating bodies. Sei grunted as she felt Youko's hot breath on the nape of her neck, and Youko could feel Sei's beating heart pressing against hers.

When they finally came to a stop, Sei had Youko pinned on her back and was straddling her body tightly. "Got you!" cried the couple in unison, as the smoke from the park slowly cleared. The tip of Youko's wand just touched Sei's chin, while Sei's revolver barrel was an inch away from the sorceress's forehead. Youko's bonnet had fallen away and lay to one side. The former White Rose stared down at the disheveled witch as the park fell quiet, her eyes emotionless. Youko's expression was similarly impassive. Silence reigned for several minutes as they gazed at each other.

"There's no need to save me anymore, Youko," said Sei quietly. She slowly lifted Forest of Thorns away, tucking it back in her holster. "If I want you, I'll call for you. That's how it's always been, right? When you comforted me in my darkest hours, and when I lost everything dear to me. And it's going to stay that way. So don't get ambitious about us, not when I hold you responsible for what happened two years ago." She rose, getting off Youko and pulling her up. She walked past Youko's cool expression, and she muttered only one word into her ear:

"Meddler."

_Meddler_. Ah, yes – Sei had called her that on the very first day they met as first-years at Lillian. More than three years on and in this foreign country, hearing Sei dismiss her in the same way hurt so much that even Youko's bone marrow could feel the pain.

* * *

_Number 9, Lilyston Square_

"It's a date, isn't it?" said Yumi excitedly.

"Just keep on feeding," sighed her mistress. Sachiko winced as Yumi bit down again sucked away the blood from her finger. It was dinnertime once again, and this time the vampiress didn't hold back, glomping amorously on the huntress's hand as Sachiko resisted laughing. What on earth was she doing, sitting on her couch in the early evening and watching a powerful undead being feed on her? Sometimes it felt ticklish, awkward. Sometime it was overpowering, sexual, seductive and intense. But on other occasions, like tonight, it was just silly and cute. Watching the kneeling Yumi from her position, with her back against the couch's armrest and her legs below the vampire, whose eyes were closed in relish – watching her enjoy her dinner like this –

When was the last time she felt so pleased about living in London?

"But really, onee-sama," piped up Yumi, lifting her fangs from Sachiko's skin. "Say it's a date."

Tonight, grande and petite soeur were going to the Royal Albert Hall together.

"I hesitate to call it a date because we won't be free from the others tonight," said Sachiko indulgently. "We're going to the concert to enjoy Beethoven, but our main task is to kill Shizuka when she, along with her troupe, begin singing their part in the fourth movement." Yumi gave a final slurp and lick, and Sachiko took out a napkin from her pocket and wiped away her blood and Yumi's saliva. "Are you sure you want our Rose date to end up in a frenzied bloodbath?"

Yum giggled. "Don't worry!" She crawled forward and draped her arms behind Sachiko's shoulders. She gazed down, and the other looked fondly up. "I'm just delighted I can be part of your vampire hunting world. For once, I can be useful."

"If only every other undead had your radiant personality," mused Sachiko, her dark eyes glimmering.

"No!" cried Yumi blushing. "If all those vampires out there were like me, you'd be saving them and bringing them here, and into your room!" The bouton beamed as her hands found Sachiko's face and caressed her cheeks. "Only I have that honor."

"Of course," conceded Rosa Chinensis in amusement. "In any case, shall we get dressed and prepare for – "

A knocking could suddenly be heard at the door. "You're on top, so why don't you run off and answer it?" said Sachiko wryly. "The sun sets so early here, so despite it being late afternoon I don't think the light outside will hurt you."

Yumi giggled gleefully, giving Sachiko's forehead and bangs a light peck, and shifted off of her beautiful mistress, running from the end of the couch to the door, a step beyond the drawing room. She opened the door, only to be blinded by the colors of the honors decking Satou Sei's coat. Yumi looked up into Sei's twinkling irises. "Sei-sama!"

"Yumi-chan. Tonight's operation – are you going?" asked the Fleet Admiral, leaning against the entrance with one arm propped against the wall.

"Sei-sama!" cried Sachiko from the drawing room. She could recognize that voice anywhere. "This is hardly an appropriate time."

"What do you mean?" cried Sei, winking at Yumi. "It's already late afternoon, you know. The concert begins at eight. I've come to pick you up," she said, as her hand suddenly wandered toward Yumi's waist. Yumi gasped, terrified that Sachiko would see. Her hand checked Sei's and struggled with it briefly.

"Stop it!" she whispered reproachfully.

"Okay. Then I'll just tell Sachiko you're molesting me." Before Yumi could pull away, Sei took hold her wrist, pulling it forth and placing Yumi's hand on her bosom. Yumi flushed furiously as Sei forced her to touch the senior's chest. Sei purred slyly as she guided Yumi's hands further up her torso. "Sachikooooo. Yumi's forcing herself on me," she called, as Yumi tugged desperately to free herself.

"Oh, stop it, Admiral," came Sachiko's exasperated voice.

"Why are you bullying me like this?" blubbered Yumi, although she could not deny that Sei's chest was very warm, very welcoming – as alive and vital as a human being could feel. She understood that as a vampire. And Sei's blood, her life fluid – she was glad Sei wasn't pulling her close, or else it would have been even more difficult to resist. Yet Sei seemed to be familiar with the inner thoughts of a bloodsucker, and she was completely fearless as she reached out with a finger and poked Yumi's cheek.

"You're such an adorable vampire, that's why."

Yumi blushed. "You could bully anyone. Why me?"

Sei grinned. "I guess I like your reaction. That, and I feel like you could use some support as you rise to your new job in the soeur ranks as a vampire hunter."

"Even though I'm a vampire?"

"Yup. That's the whole reason why I've got my eye on you. So you can feel comfortable and welcomed," said Sei, directing Yumi to press down on the breasts underneath that coat, vest, shirt and bra. Yumi squeaked at the contact – she had never seen herself touching anyone else apart from Sachiko. Yet Sei's words were sincere, and it was true that she had much wisdom to offer.

"_Sei-sama_!" came Sachiko's angry shout. "I know what you're doing. Stop it."

Sei stopped, her expression betraying her surprise. "Oops. Too loud, I guess."

"If you don't let my hand go now, I'm going to turn your own game against you." Yumi giggled as she suddenly tightened her grip, making the Admiral of the Japanese Empire yelp at the unexpectedly rough squeeze. The vampiress laughed gleefully, in the unusual mood for some mischief. Why not? After all, if this former White Rose was forcing her to do this in front of Sachiko, then at least she could make her pay the price for toying with the undead. "Revenge!" she cried playfully, squeezing hard again before Sei relented and let go of her wrist.

"You winsome rascal, you!" The vampire's mentor figure laughed, thoroughly pleased that Yumi was entertained. "That just makes me want to fondle you all the more, sweet undead."

"Can you at least come in and close the door behind you? You're letting in all the mosquitoes. Or on second thought, better yet if you just left," sniffed Sachiko, standing up from the couch. She had seen enough of this. "Come on, Yumi. You will come with me to the bedroom and change with me. I don't trust Sei around you."

"Jealous that she actually enjoys how fun I am, my socially awkward Red Rose?" taunted Sei.

Clearly, she had hit a nerve. It was the last straw. Yumi squeaked and ran for cover as Sachiko revealed the blade of her swordstick and stalked toward the door. Sei let out a low "uh-oh" and ducked as a new, jealous battle began.

"Out! Out! Away with you! Get out! _Get out of my house_!"

* * *

_Royal Albert Hall_

The crowds were slowly gathering outside in the cold autumn night. The congregating guests seemed pretty normal. Sachiko couldn't sense any vampiric energy for the meantime. Aristocrats, businessmen, and several members of parliament attended the concert, and Lansdowne was hosting Hayashi and the soeur entourage to the masterpiece of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

"Wow," breathed Yumi, staring at the framed photo that had been affixed to the wall by some publicist. On the paper was the smiling face of Kanina Shizuka, with the caption of _Acclaimed Guest Vocalist_. "So even we vampires can join the opera."

"Hardly Shizuka-san's forte. If her brief time at Lillian tells us anything, she preferred to sing in Italian and French," sniffed Sachiko. "Yet such is the Ninth Symphony's reputation that perhaps Shizuka-san wouldn't mind singing German."

"This is a dream come true," whispered Yumi, staring at the surrounding women's resplendent gowns and the men's impeccable suits of Western capitalist fruit. When she was a beggar girl by the docks, the glimmering lights of the auditoriums and theaters were distant dreams that she never even thought about. Tonight, she didn't feel out of place, because she was just as well dressed as the others. She blushed as she stared down at her attire (a set that Sachiko had specifically chosen for her) – a grey three-piece of a coat, trousers, and vest that suited young boys more than girls. And that attractive, collegiate tie – ! Just as Yumi had her quirks, Sachiko had hers, and Yumi was so excited to simply be out here tonight with her mistress that she was happy to wear anything Sachiko wanted. "I've never dressed so formally before," she said to herself, adjusting the frilled collar that lent an air of ambiguous femininity and elegance to her otherwise angled and sharp outfit. She beamed at Rosa Chinensis, striking a boyish pose as she put her hands on her hips. "You wanted to see me like this, didn't you?" she asked, giggling.

"I like it," said Sachiko quietly, looking Yumi up and down. Instead of her conservative tailcoat and vest, tonight the Red Rose was dressed in a stunning, red evening gown that exposed the lower half of her legs. Her velvety hair was similarly spectacular, done up in a sophisticated bun that allowed her curled tresses to drape down her forehead alluringly. Affixed to her hairdo was a beautiful ruby pin, and her eyes were entrancing; her reddened lips irresistible. Yet she still had her swordstick, although it was perhaps expected – she never went anywhere without it. Yumi thought she could just stand and admire forever, and to a degree Sachiko nurtured similar feelings for Yumi's new look. "You exude a certain, androgynous innocence that is very… attractive."

Yumi looked away, unable to meet the older girl's gaze. "And you tell me off for having weird thoughts."

"Behave, vampire," chided Sachiko, clearly amused and enjoying the public restraints that prevented Yumi from otherwise ravishing her with such impunity at home. But her face soon turned serious. "It's good that you want to be of service to me. But you must not risk your life without good reason. I want to live happily with you, Yumi." Sachiko's slender shoulders shuddered. "I want to be there for you, as your grande soeur. I hope that you can repay me by keeping me by your side until my very last mortal breath."

Yumi suddenly felt her eyes welling with tears, and she rubbed them away frantically, her heart racing. Sachiko smiled kindly as the vampire struggled to regain herself. "Don't say such sad things," whispered Yumi, sniffling quietly. "I would want nothing more than for you to live forever with me."

"A happy death is the happiest ending a human can wish for," said the hunter pensively. "Therefore, the happiest ending for me would be to say goodbye to this world, as an imperfect but dignified human, in the arms of the vampire I love."

Yumi felt like wailing and bawling, but it was hardly a good show for her first concert night with her onee-sama. "How do you like this?" came Eriko's voice, and Yumi and Sachiko turned to see the former Yellow Rose in a magnificent chrysanthemum gown (her forehead still looked big, though). She stood beside the shorthaired Sei, who was in her military uniform, her Prussian blue coat complimented by her hands' white gloves.

"Yo! Yumi-chan, Sachiko," greeted the Admiral. Yumi saluted playfully while Sachiko wrinkled her elegant nose at the insufferable flirt.

Eriko glanced around, the gems on her fingers' rings shimmering. "Sei and I will be leading the sting. I will represent our delegation for Hayashi-sama while Sei and Noriko-chan assassinate Shizuka." She grimaced. "Typical of vampires – to hide themselves among public events like concerts to preserve their own cowardly skin while they feed." She looked at Yumi quickly, chagrined. "Sorry, Yumi-chan. I don't mean all vampires, of course."

Yumi waved her hands, laughing uncomfortably. "It's alright, Eriko-sama."

"Since we have Yumi-chan with us this time, Rei and Yoshino can move independently of us. They'll be initiating their own hunt somewhere else. With that said, I believe Shizuka expects at least some of us to be here tonight. Why else would she have accepted the Rome Philharmonic's invitation for such a minor role, unworthy of a soloist of her caliber?"

"She's always loved music, to be fair," came Youko's casual voice. The former Red Rose was garbed in a superb crimson dress like Sachiko's, only lighter in color. "I will be protecting Hayashi-sama and Lord Lansdowne tonight once Sei makes her move."

"Onee-sama! You look splendid," gushed Sachiko.

The two ministers of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance stood behind the sorceress, comfortable in their tweed suits of impeccable luxury – Lansdowne in a beige fit, Hayashi a scholarly brown. The two aging men gaped at the assembly of sumptuously dressed soeurs, and they sighed. "Oh, to be young again," groaned Lansdowne, adjusting his bowler hat and scratching his sideburns and moustache.

"There were no Lillian girls when I was a student," agreed Hayashi mournfully. "All I had was Hepburn Academy in Yokohama. And London's King's College."

Sei and Youko could not help laughing. "We'll take your grieving regret as a compliment, ministers," chortled the Fleet Admiral.

The former Red Rose stopped before Yumi, gazing down and stroking a loose strand of brown hair. The latter gazed, up, blinking curiously. "So this is the successor Sachiko has chosen for our guild. Our heir," whispered Youko. "The future Red Rose shall be a vampire." She smiled benevolently, and Yumi felt warm. "My precious soeur trusts you. So with an aching heart, I entrust Sachiko to you, Yumi-chan."

Yumi almost wanted to blubber again when Hayashi and Lansdowne interrupted her. "It seems we haven't met before… might you be the mysterious Red bouton I've never seen?" asked Hayashi, giving a polite bow.

Yumi quickly bowed at the waist too. "Yes, Hayashi-sama. I am Sachiko-sama's petite soeur." She knew she was face-to-face with a diplomat and Viscount, but for some reason Sachiko's presence put her at a confident ease that she never thought she could know.

"She is a full-blooded vampire," noted Youko, catching Yumi, Hayashi and Lansdowne off-guard. Sachiko looked as if she wanted to stop her grande soeur, but Youko pressed on. "Just as Eriko accepted two half-vampires into the Foetida guild, I trust, good ministers, you'll support Rosa Chinensis's choice of having a vampire fight for humanity."

"Flattered," purred Eriko.

"We'll see," said Hayashi, looking at Yumi. "For now, I see no reason why I should disagree."

"Shall we make our way inside, then?" suggested Lansdowne, removing his bowler hat. "The performance will begin at eight, on the dot."

"Sei-kun, Eriko-chan, Youko-chan. You will be sitting with Lansdowne-kyo and me," said Hayashi. "Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Chinensis en bouton, you won't be with us on the booth, but in the VIP seats."

"Then let's make a move," approved Sachiko. She extended a slender, gloved hand as she tapped her cane sword on the ground. "Yumi?"

"My mistress and grande soeur," acknowledged the vampire happily, placing her lightly clenched hand on her hip and allowing Sachiko to take her by the arm. She suddenly felt rather groovy – this was really fun. Her heart bounded as she felt Sachiko's hand wrap around her bicep. The older girl looked down musingly at her, a true lady.

"Now let's enjoy the concert," said Rosa Chinensis, as the soeurs lined up to the Royal Albert Hall's entrance and mingled with the crowd. "And wait."

* * *

It was a most phenomenal symphony, an acoustic achievement that would be forever difficult to surpass. At last, the grandest sequence of the evening – the "Choral" – was upon them. This component of the so-called Ode to Joy held a special place in the discerning audience's memories. Far below the special guests' booth, from which Youko, Sei, Eriko and the ministers Hayashi and Lansdowne watched, Yumi lost herself in the entrancing melody of the gentleman's flawless singing:

"_Freude, schöner Götterfunken / Tochter aus Elysium,__ / __Wir betreten feuertrunken,__ / __Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!__ / __Deine Zauber binden wieder__ / __Was die Mode streng geteilt__;__ / __Alle Menschen werden Brüder,__ / __Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt_."

The massive, pan-European choir behind the orchestra thundered into joyous, jubilant support, and Sachiko, who sat beside Yumi in the vast concert hall, narrowed her eyes. "Keep watch, Yumi. The ladies will sing now," she noted. Sing they did, and Yumi's ears could instantly hear Shizuka's remarkable voice, for it led all the others as they eulogized the joy of friendship and universal brotherhood. The Pink Rose was garbed in a modest black dress like the rest of the female vocalists, but her Japanese elegance and flawless singing were instantly recognizable. Yumi could not help wondering – did Shizuka, a powerful vampire, love classical music so much that she was actually unafraid to expose herself to her hunters?

"_Wem der große Wurf gelungen, / Eines Freundes Freund zu sein; / Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, / Mische seinen Jubel ein! / Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele / Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! / Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle / Weinend sich aus diesem Bund_!"

As she completed her part, Shizuka's beaming face broke into an even wider smile as she noticed Sei gazing at her. The symphony continued, weaving its songcraft into the late evening. The sopranos, altos, tenors and baritones unbridled their vivid melody to the conductor's passionate directives: "_Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, / Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; / Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben_, _/ Und der Cherub steht vor Gott_!" Sachiko could sense the undead stench of the orchestral members. Many were amongst the choir; they had been clearly bitten and enslaved by Shizuka. There was the timpani player who innocently drummed away. Sachiko could sense the unnatural movements of many violinists – their timing to their instruments was almost too good. Yumi had briefly lost track of the choir's progress, until she realized they were breaking into a tremendous, awe-inspiring buildup. Shizuka looked radiant as she joined with her choristers in resounding this triumphant repetition. Yumi could glimpse those exposed fangs, and the fangs of other singers as they innocently proclaimed the glory of the Creator. "_Und – der – Cherub – steht – vor – Gott_!"

"That's the signal. Get ready," muttered Sachiko from the front row, her gloved hands clenching her swordstick's pommel as she stared unseeingly at the gesticulating conductor.

"_Steht vor Gott_!"

"Shizuka will mock Lillian no more," whispered Eriko. Beside her, Hayashi let out a deep breath, and Lansdowne wiped away at the beads of sweat on his forehead.

"_Vor Gott_!"

Yumi's fists tightened.

"_Gott_!"

Sei cocked her pistol. "And the shit hits the chandelier~" she quipped.

"_VOR GOTT_!" The Gigantea Admiral whipped up from her booth's seat and fired repeatedly at Shizuka, who pulled over a fellow vocalist to take the thorn bullet. The hapless victim crumpled, her left eye gushing gore as she slumped against the still-singing woman beside her. Many members of the orchestra looked up in confusion and instinctive fear at the loud _bang_, and some had the good sense to duck and start fleeing. The conductor glanced around at the interruption, taken completely aback as cries and shrieks erupted all around him. The collective audience did not truly break into a panic until Shizuka drew her own pistol and began to shoot calmly up at the booth, prompting her surrounding colleagues to scream and jump from their positions in terror. Sei ducked and Youko, Lansdowne and Hayashi hastily scrambled from their seats and into a crouch to avoid the ricocheting bullets. Shizuka shoved away the corpse beside her, elbowed her fellow vocalists aside and stepped forward, firing at Sei, who returned more gunshots from the gallery. Violinists, trumpeters, trombonists and the other musicians had fled their seats and were running for their lives, but most, who were evidently vampires, remained. At Shizuka's mental command, they rose from their seats, fixating their gaze on Sachiko and Yumi, who had risen from their seats. Some undead musicians, bizarrely, continued to play, and the undead choir sang even more loudly, above the cacophony that had engulfed the concert hall. They ignored the fleeing stampede of suited men and finely dressed women, singing a siren song of the night. Not even Beethoven and Schiller could mask their insidious bloodlust now.

"A vampiric orchestra," muttered a squatting Eriko, covering her head with her hands as Sei continued to fire gleefully at Shizuka, picking off several undead vocalists while at it. "Only in London. Youko!"

"Hayashi-sama! Lord Lansdowne," shouted Youko. "Trust me if you don't want to die here." The ruffled officials hurried over to her as she weaved a spell into existence. The forcefield wrapped itself around them, cocooning them in an impenetrable bubble. "I'm taking the gentlemen back to the Foreign Ministry!" She waved her wand, and the three winked out of sight. The vampires continued their sinister chorus – a most surreal spectacle, as Shizuka leaped down from her spot, somersaulting in the air as her revolvers forced Sei and Eriko to duck again. Sachiko and Yumi had bolted from their VIP seats, charging at a suited oboist who growled menacingly. Sachiko swung Flower Stalk, and the vampire made the uncanny move of jamming her blade's slim tip with his instrument. They struggled against each other, and Yumi had no time to help as she almost comically dodged a bassoon that was thrown at her. It crashed into the conductor's vacated podium. The eerie choir above the soeurs continued to sing the Ode to Joy, but Yumi had no time as she dived away from a tuxedoed vampire's swinging cello. The undead spun and lifted up the massive instrument, bringing it down and smashing it into the planks. Splinters of wood and broken strings were hurled into the air as Yumi leaped away, growling –

An explosion rocked the stage as three vampires staggered back, blinded by holy smoke from a detonated bomb. From the shadows leaped out the unmistakable form of Noriko, who had been lurking above the chandelier of the hall for the last hour. Throwing away her demon's mask, the White bouton silently leaped past two female vampires and unleashed a deadly contraption with spinning blades, which made short work of the shrieking women's heads. Their black dresses and blood spattered the ground. "Noriko-chan!" cried Yumi, looking up at the black-garbed ninja.

"The Gigantea's secret agent," declared Sachiko, her red dress billowing as she thrust her swordstick past the trombone of a gurgling vampire and into his neck. Another vampire leaped at her, but her Vermillion revolver silenced the attacker with a Macedonian bullet in the mouth. "She'll help us take care of the riffraff."

Noriko disappeared in a mysterious explosion as a vampire lunged for her, and the attacker slumped as his neck and spinal chord was pierced by a _kunai_ made of silver. He collapsed into a pile of dust, and the ninja was nimbly leaping from shoulder to shoulder, dashing above the hungry gang of bloodsucking tenors and sopranos, before somersaulting, spinning in mid-air, and throwing a smoke bomb behind her. Another deceptive blast filled the sundered stage, and the undead were caught off-guard as Noriko reappeared in their midst. The short girl swept a violinist vampire to the ground with a sliding kick and smashed her fist into the chin of an undead flutist, breaking his jaw. She caught the arm of a demonic bassist and threw him over her shoulder, slamming him to the floor. Pivoting around, she unsheathed her silver _tanto_, and ten undead heads left their shoulders, the teetering bodies falling prone before the bouton.

"I'm only glad Shimako-san didn't need to waste her time with these pushovers," scoffed the ninja.

"A big thank you to Noriko-chan for thinning those ranks. Now…" Sei turned to the stage, from which Shizuka was slowly descending. Her high-heeled shoes slammed amongst the corpses and scattered instruments, her yellow eyes glinting as she faced the soeurs a second time.

"Did you enjoy my undead symphony?" she asked.

"Creative, but a little tacky," responded Sei dryly. "For the record, honey, it's pretty hard to take vampiric musicians seriously."

The audience had long fled. Youko had protected Lansdowne and Hayashi by whisking them away from the battlefield. All that remained was Shizuka and the soeurs that faced her. They stood amidst the ruins of the concert, with Shizuka's shoe crushing a violin lying on the floor. Sachiko pointed her swordstick at Rosa Canina while Sei aimed Forest of Thorns at her. Shizuka didn't seem bothered. "You know you can't keep me down forever with your weapons. You haven't forgotten what happened last week at Trafalgar Square, have you? Sachiko-san."

"And you think you can survive my pistol?" demanded Sei. "Big call, pretty girl."

"How can someone be threatened by Hell if they don't believe in it?" Shizuka smiled. "Your light cannot burn me. There is nothing but darkness – the darkness of eventide, the darkness of empty space. The darkness of a rose dipped in black ink."

"And what if the darkness rose to devour you? Have you ever thought that the darkness might not be on the side of evil?" rang out Rosa Chinensis en bouton's voice. Sachiko started as Yumi emerged from behind her, striding over to stand before Shizuka. The latter raised her eyebrow ever so slightly as the vampire challenged her own compatriot.

"I'll show you, Shizuka-sama," cried Yumi. "I'll show you… just what a vampiress is willing to do for her human mistress!"

"Yumi, don't be so hasty – " Sachiko's words were drowned out by a flurry of gunshots. Shizuka had whipped out her pistol and fired several rounds into Yumi's head, and Yumi staggered back, her pigtails undone as her hair spilled freely with the blood that poured from her pierced forehead. Her eyes widened in shock, and she gasped at the unexpected trauma of the bullets in her. Then she couldn't feel anything at all. "Yumi!" shrieked Sachiko in panic, reaching for her. She had never sent her precious vampire into battle before, and she feared that this first time would also be her last. How could she have been so careless? She should have known they weren't ready for a live skirmish side-by-side! She prayed that Yumi's powers could at least save her from Shizuka's gun. "Yumi!"

"Yumi-chan!" cried Eriko.

But Yumi didn't respond. Sachiko stared at her toppling body in despairing horror as her back met the ground. A dull _thud_ echoed throughout the abandoned hall. The girl's cloudy eyes had glazed over, and her body was completely slack. Her mouth lolled open stupidly, and blood from her wounds began to seep out from behind her punctured skull.

The Red Rose's futile, echoing pleas grew frantic. "Yumi! Yumi! _Fukusawa Yumi_!"

Shizuka smiled. "Brave girl. Perhaps we could have been friends," she said, now pointing her pistol at Sei.

"I know you have a massive crush on me, but this is going too far," muttered Sei, finger tightening on her trigger. Noriko winked into sight, kneeling before the Admiral.

"I will avenge Yumi-san," said the ninja tersely.

"Knock yourself out. I want her defeated, dead or alive," agreed Sei.

Sachiko's gloved hand trembled as she raised Flower Stalk in a high guard. "Kanina Shizuka." The hunter's lip trembled in wrath. For now, she didn't know what to think – whether to cry or to scream or to curse her adversary. The shock of Yumi not _being_ – of not existing – was something she had never even been prepared to entertain. But one thing was clear. "I must kill you with my bare hands."

Another loud _boom_ shook the concert hall, and Shizuka's eyes widened. Sei and Eriko turned around to follow her gaze, and their mouths dropped open.

The kneeling Noriko let out a breath of awe.

Yumi's brown shoe had slammed into the ground; giving her the momentum to lift her body up as she regained her senses from the force of Shizuka's bullets. She glared at the rival vampire, her head regenerating eerily with black mist that weaved itself around the wounds and ate away the festering tissue and brains, replacing it with fresh, solid matter. For a moment, or perhaps several, the young vampire felt that she had indeed lost consciousness. It was her first time being shot in the cranium, after all, although her vow to fight for her grande soeur meant she probably should prepare herself for many more such occasions. But after several moments of total blackness, like the tranquility of deep sleep, the dream shattered into the light of the chandelier hanging from the hall's ceiling, and she could breathe and move and thirst for blood once more. Rubbing her sore shoulder briefly, Yumi bared her fangs, raising her arm and lifting an open hand, her eyes no longer dead. Shizuka already looked taken aback, but was even more shocked when Yumi's body began to visibly evaporate, her facial features, three-piece attire and gracile form disappearing into thin air as it turned into mist: grey, dark fog that surrounded Shizuka and wafted up to the tall ceiling.

"Yumi. Yumi!" cried the distraught Sachiko, looking around and unsure of what exactly had happened. "If you dare to disappear from me – "

"Don't worry, onee-sama," came Yumi's gentle voice. It echoed throughout the concert hall, and Noriko and Sei glanced up, wondering where it came from. "Thanks to your kindness and the blood you've given me, I don't think I'll take a beating so easily."

Shizuka let out a sharp cry as a torrent of deafening, screaming bats burst out of nowhere from the grey fog and surrounded her, battering at her and scratching her dress and skin. Her silken fabrics were quickly torn apart, and although she was firing wildly in any direction she could manage, the horde of squealing bats didn't relent, covering her, attaching themselves to her, attacking and biting her. Shutting tight her eyelids, Shizuka staggered away from the soeurs as she struggled to free herself from the nocturnal mob, but the bats followed mercilessly while the grey smog on the stage pulsated with life. Noriko stared at the darkly marvelous sight before her, gobsmacked.

"Yumi, is that you?" wondered Sachiko aloud, unsure if the girl who shared her bed every night and this… creature… were the same. "How could you be so powerful? Why do you seem so familiar with your capabilities when you've never used them?"

"It's because of you, Sachiko," said Sei quietly. "Yumi has been fortunate enough, unlike most of the night-kin, to drink the blood of a willing human. She has enjoyed, night after night, someone who surrendered her life currency from her own free volition, not through coercion or fear or submission. This transaction has meant nothing less than the unlocking of her full potential as Nosferatu. She has already attained what most vampires spend eternity craving: a willing giver of blood, a human who loves her enough to sacrifice something so dear. The unconditional love and acceptance of a human being is all that's needed for so-called monsters to become forces of benevolence, unwavering powerhouses for good."

She chuckled. "I guess monsters and humans aren't that different."

"Not too shabby, Yumi-chan. Yoshino and Rei will be impressed when I tell them about this. I guess you can have a fiery side if provoked," observed Eriko, breathing a sigh of relief.

Even so, Rosa Chinensis could not help feeling unnerved by the abandon with which Yumi threw herself into her new role as a bouton and servant of the Red guild. Again and again Shizuka was beaten back by streams of squealing bats that fluttered out of the mystifying mists. She fired into the smog, again and again, but to no effect. Every few seconds she managed to shoot down several bats, but there was no end to them. She turned around, her yellow eyes narrowing further as two red orbs ignited before her. She gaped down as Yumi's physical form materialized, and the latter's mouth opened, revealing a pair of glinting, lengthened canines. With a rare, dread roar, Yumi leaped for the surprised Shizuka, who briefly panicked and ducked. Missing her enemy by a hair, Yumi landed on all fours, skidding along the wood of the concert hall. Her long hair spilled out behind her, her irises and pupils replaced by an ethereal crimson glow. She scuttled towards the Pink Rose with terrifying aggression and unnerving speed, pouncing and lifting high her claws, which were visibly growing by the second. Shizuka dashed back and attempted to get some distance, but Yumi's bats were fluttering above the Pink Rose's head once more, suffocating and smothering her as the bouton slashed ferociously, carving a horrific four gashes on Shizuka's torn chest. Maggots emerged to quickly regenerate the flesh and clothes, but Shizuka no longer assumed that she fought an ordinary vampire. Rather, she was engaging one as powerful as herself, perhaps more so since the other had drunk the blood of a willing donor.

She was not at an advantage here. She was fighting an equal.

Rosa Chinensis en bouton pushed roughly against Rosa Canina, who blocked with her arms. Shizuka winced as Yumi's claws pierced and sank into her flesh. Blood spurted from her wounds as she was hurled back. Wrenching out her nails, Yumi glared at her foe as her endless bats fluttered about the stage and auditorium. "Onee-sama can take it easy tonight," she hissed.

Shizuka panted quietly, her usually mild face betraying her disbelief and slight fear. She aimed her gun up at the ceiling, shooting at the chandelier's chains. The massive, ornamental light with its intricate, far-reaching branches began to creak and groan, before descending upon the soeurs. Shizuka fled, but rather than chase her Yumi sprinted towards Sachiko to save her from the falling lights. Sei shouted for Eriko and Noriko to run, and Yumi clasped Sachiko in her arms as the chandelier descended upon them. "Let me take care of this, onee-sama," whispered the vampire brightly, staring up at the Red Rose. "Let me impress you." The mist around them suddenly blackened into a bottomless murky smoke, forming a dome-shaped canopy around the couple as they heard the chandelier crashing and shattering outside the dimness. The other soeurs had disappeared from sight for the moment (indeed, everything had disappeared except for the two of them), and Yumi couldn't resist hugging her onee-sama tighter, enjoying their brief moment alone.

Protected by this mysterious aura of shadow and immersed in darkness, Sachiko was lost for words as she gazed down at her undead soeur. Why did her vampire – her greedy thing – suddenly seem so much more mature now? "You fool, throwing yourself against Rosa Canina like that," she whispered. "How did you know you couldn't die from gunshots?"

Yumi giggled in pleasure, tapping a finger against her left breast. "Because your blood courses through me. Only a human's freely given acceptance can make a vampire truly immortal. Confidence, affirmation and joy – simple, really."

Sachiko nuzzled the top of Yumi's head in silence as the outside world fell quiet. "I think it's over," whispered the vampiress. Yumi's dark protective field fell apart, dissipating into nothingness. The concert hall was once more visible, only far darker thanks to the destroyed chandelier. Wrecked instruments, destroyed aisles and seatings, random bats still squeaking and fluttering about – it was a surreal mess.

"Is everyone alright?" came Sei's voice.

"I'll survive," grunted Eriko, who had been hiding behind the balcony all this time.

"I must report to Shimako-san about this," said Noriko. "I'll be contacting Scotland Yard to ensure all the guests returned home safely. We'll also need to get in touch with the human families of these vampires so we can perform the last rites on their remains."

"We're fine too," said Sachiko, clutching Yumi tighter. "But Shizuka-sama is still on the loose. No matter for now. Enough has happened tonight."

Sei grinned in the dark. "Good job, Yumi. Everyone kicked butt tonight, but you were especially cool back there."

Yumi giggled, pleased and flattered by the Admiral's compliment. It was impossible to dislike or feel uncomfortable with the flirtatious leader – she really knew how to endear herself to her juniors. "Thank you, Sei-sama." Yumi looked back up at Sachiko eagerly. "Have I proved myself? If you need help in hunting vampires – may I be of use to you?"

Sachiko sighed, running her knuckle softly along Yumi's cheek. "I'll be worried about you, because it's in my nature to do so. But you have more than proved yourself. Feel free to follow me… if you don't mind."

Yumi squealed and squeezed a wheezing Sachiko with all her superhuman strength. "What did I tell you? This was the best date ever!"

* * *

**Next chapter: Yumi the vampire joins Sachiko the huntress to protect the streets of London. It's a Christmas and spring of vampire hunting for the soeurs as the noose closes in around Shizuka's throat! **


	5. Westminster Abbey's Darkest Secret

**Chapter 5**

**Westminster Abbey's Darkest Secret**

* * *

Welcome back to this dark fantasy AU featuring our beloved Marimite girls in 1902: three years before the Russo-Japanese War. Yumi is a powerful, kind undead who loves life. For the past year she has lived a quiet existence with her beloved soeur, the all-too-human Sachiko, at the small but cozy flat of Number 9, Lilyston Square. In the last few months her nights have become far more eventful, with the arrival of high-ranking former Roses to the United Kingdom and a recent battle against a vampire orchestra (literally). Having witnessed her power and sincerity to Sachiko, the soeurs have accepted her as part of the team of three guilds. Preparations are underway for the final hunt against the increasingly surrounded Shizuka! Is victory around the corner?

Please R&R but most of all enjoy!

* * *

It was dusk. Sweating in terror through her chemise, the junior journalist fled past a row of empty buildings, their balustrades peering at her unsympathetically as she ran for her life. The street had been strangely deserted, which was even more unnerving – usually she knew where to find people, to track down whoever she wanted, but this time, it was she who was trying to avoid her pursuer, racing on into the evening to escape from the lich that was leaping across the rooftops to catch her. She had managed to take a few snapshots of a gentleman whose eyes were a sickly yellow and his canines an unnatural length, but as the sun set his apparently gentle mannerisms were cast away, and he had begun chasing her, despite her having hid herself several blocks away. Apparently, his sense of smell was supernatural too.

"You know too much, you meddling girl from the East," said the suited vampire, landing before her. She stopped in her tracks, panting loudly as he adjusted his tall black hat. The girl's eyes widened in terror behind her large glasses. "I will take those photos, your honor, and your life."

But he never got further. A new guest had intruded on his meal tonight, and if it were Scotland Yard he would have easily disposed of their pathetic human guns. Only it wasn't a policeman, but a swarm of squealing bats. The moon was glowing brighter as the sky grew blacker. He backed away, sensing that it was a powerful undead being – perhaps stronger than he. The fluttering, leathery wings slowly and smoothly reformed into human flesh, a simple green blouse, and the young face of a Japanese girl, whose pigtails were hardly a usual part of a vampire's getup.

"You won't hurt her, Mister Vampire," declared Yumi, glaring sharply at him. "Don't think that you answer to humans alone. You have me – your own kind – to face if you want to feed on innocents."

With nothing to lose, the shocked and arrogant vampire pounced at Yumi, who growled in reply, her usually friendly eyes glowing with bloodlust. Her hand tightened has her claws began to grow at an accelerated pace, and as the assailant neared her she weaved past his outstretched arms and thrust her hand into his face, her claws piercing into his long nose, digging into bone and cartilage and past his shocked eyes, burying themselves into his flesh, cutting into his skull and lodging in his throbbing brains.

"How – how could you be so strong?" gurgled the shocked, doomed undead.

"Fear not my power, but the love and blood of my human mistress," snarled Yumi.

He slumped silently, and before he hit the ground Yumi pulled her frighteningly strong hand out of his punctured head. His carcass flopped to the ground, and within a few moments, a lit match that had fallen on top of the corpse incinerated the dead vampire, consuming him in blessed fire. Within minutes nothing except hissing ashes remained.

The sweating journalist looked up in astonishment. A girl in a military uniform with long braids was crouching on the side of the rooftops. She had thrown the match, watching with satisfaction as the undead corpse was reduced to dust. "_Arigatou_, Yoshino-san," called the vampiric rescuer.

"It's great working with you, Yumi-san," replied the braided girl, saluting and smiling. Strapped to her thigh was a deadly, serrated blade, as well as a pistol with an abnormally long barrel. "Keeping the streets safe has been so much easier with you around. How many have you saved in the past few months? Less time spent out here means more free time to spend with our Roses."

Yumi beamed. "You're safe now, good miss. It might be a good idea to hurry home… I'm so sorry, but what is your name?" she asked the junior journalist, scratching her head in chagrin. "I know you must be Japanese – I am too – but…"

"I'm Takeshima Tsutako. Just started working freelance for the newspapers back home, but I wanted to get a good story as a correspondent here. And to see you, and these other monsters in all their terrifying glory…" No longer afraid, the writer adjusted her glasses slowly, those spectacles gleaming shrewdly. Her life-threatening ordeal had been forgotten in the wake of a new scoop. Her voice grew keen and enthusiastic. "Say, Yumi-san, how's it like living in England as a supernatural undead? And who was that on the rooftop? Are you London's secret protectors? How about some photos? I promise I won't show anyone except… well, everyone who reads my stuff. I'd love an interview with a vampire."

Flattered, Yumi giggled as her physical form was swept up into the night sky in a flurry of fluttering bats. "Sorry, Tsutako-san. The night's just begun and I'm going hunting. But if you ever pass by Lilyston Square, don't forget to knock on door nine."

* * *

_Number 9, Lilyston Square. December the 24th, 1902.  
_

Dressed in a happy blue blouse, Yumi set down two teacups on the coffee table before Admiral Sei and an annoyed Sachiko. It was stacked with silk from south China, boxed spices from India and Sri Lanka, ground Kenyan beans, and medicinal roots harvested from Indonesia. Such were the spoils of the sea trade. Such were also the rewards of colonialism, which Yumi disliked (as far as she had read, from Sachiko's diaries and records with government officials). But while she and Rosa Chinensis had always discussed it in private, she didn't want to criticize it in front of the others. All three guilds worked for a thoroughly imperialist institution, and worked closely with their contacts within Britain's vast international empire. And there was Sei, mentor figure to the young vampire, who was the commander of the Imperial Navy. Everyone Yumi knew was involved with ensuring Greater Japan's dominance. But from the smiles and laughter of the soeurs tonight, Yumi knew that if they had a choice, they would have preferred to be born in a better age.

Perhaps if they had all met in a more peaceful time, at a normal school, wearing dark green _seifuku_ with white collars and pleats on their skirts…

Yumi smiled wistfully. _Where did that random fantasy come from_? she wondered, shaking her head.

It shouldn't have been a surprise to her that Sachiko was so protective of her recently. Several months had passed since their battle with Shizuka at the Royal Albert Hall. She now served as a powerful support for the huntresses, joining her fellow boutons, Yoshino and Shimako, in the hunt. She had already made some extraordinary friends, from the cool-headed Eriko to the sharp but kind Youko, from the tall and handsome Rei to the loyal and sometimes crazy Yoshino. Despite having the official title of Rosa Gigantea, Shimako preferred to work with her peers, who were the same age as her. The Gigantea guild was unique because it operated on the principle of the Reign of Two: as the White Rose, Sei took no second-year to be her bouton, choosing the fresh-eyed Shimako instead. In turn, Shimako had the blessing to meet an unswervingly loyal protector in Noriko, who was a pious Buddhist but deferred to Shimako's Catholic preferences. Shimako, in turn, was able to make peace with her insecurities as a young Rose thanks to the ninja's fiery, feisty support. They were the perfect couple.

Tonight, the soeurs enjoyed Christmas Eve together. Eriko was absent, occupied at a political engagement with Lansdowne and Hayashi. Not that Sei cared about her duties. She was supposed to be welcoming a detachment of sailors from the Royal Navy, but she had wagged the event to visit Sachiko's. Rei and Yoshino sat on the opposite couch facing Sachiko and Sei, having been served fresh Darjeeling tea. Youko stood beside Sei, her arms resting on the couch as Sei laughed and joked about bygone times. Despite their professions, none of the soeurs save Shimako and Noriko cared much for religion, so Christmas was just an excuse to set aside the guns and swords and spend time together the way normal friends do. But tonight was the night Sachiko's lips were pursed in fuming frustration (again). "Why do you do this to me, Sei-sama?" she wondered sarcastically, as she gingerly lifted the Admiral's arm off her shoulder.

"Because I love it when you have no choice but to put up with me, especially when it's my birthday," laughed Sei. "_For unto us a Child is born_," she sang cheekily. "The Anointed One or me: choose. If you stay here to celebrate mine, you aren't going to church. And there's no way I'm letting you go somewhere else."

"Go back to your fans at Queen's and you may be able to start a cult," sniffed Sachiko, looking away in disdain.

"Come on, Rosa Chinensis," said Rei, chuckling. Her boyish but pretty countenance was illuminated by the pleasantly dim lights hanging from the apartment's ceiling. "Swallow your pride and let Sei bask in her birthday privilege."

"Yumi-san," called Yoshino eagerly. "I'm looking forward to your masterpiece!"

"Sure," agreed Yumi, setting down a slightly misshapen but adorable cake that had been baked according to a recipe Rei acquired from France. Rei had offered to do most of the hard work, but Yumi had insisted that she play the main part in baking it. It was a simple sponge cake coated in chocolate, with candy from Holland by its side. Rosa Foetida and Yoshino let out a hushed, impressed murmur, and Sachiko stood up, moving to be by Yumi's side. "Merry Christmas, everyone!" gushed Yumi, "and of course, many happy returns to you, Sei-sama!"

Sei's eyes lit up at Yumi's cake. Youko watched Sei with unusual attentiveness as the latter beckoned Shimako and Noriko forward, and the Gigantea girls kneeled beside the couch's edge. She reached over to her side and took a hand from each junior, her expression genuinely grateful. "What a wonderful birthday and Christmas night, onee-sama," whispered Shimako, looking lovingly into her grande soeur's eyes. "It's all thanks to Rosa Chinensis and Yumi-san."

"Isn't this just fantastic, Sei-san?" said Noriko happily.

But to Yumi's surprise, Sei's expression was almost melancholy as she gazed down at her two juniors, the girls who had inherited the Gigantea family.

"Thanks… all of you," she said. She briefly released Noriko's hand to take Youko's. The witch started at the skin-to-skin contact, and her eyes met the Admiral's.

"I'm sorry for having been so difficult," smiled Sei.

Youko didn't know how to respond. "Did I ever ask for an apology?" she tittered unsteadily.

"No, but you did ask for some long-overdue gratitude. And so…"

Sei laughed, and her voice was so beautiful it almost unnerved Youko.

"Thank you!"

* * *

Yumi set about the finishing touches to her slightly misshaped chocolates in the pantry. She squinted at one of them, poking it lightly because she was unsure of its texture and whether it would fall apart when it reached the table. She groaned at her failure ratio – over half of the chocolates were less spheres and more indefinable blob. She was a total beginner to baking, but she was getting there – even vampires needed to take things step-by-step.

"Yumi, that cake tastes scrumptious. I'm planning to steal Sachiko's portion, if you don't mind, me being birthday girl and all. Thanks for an amazing party. It was kinda touching, I'll give you that."

Yumi turned at Sei's voice, smiling sweetly. "Japan's Fleet Admiral deserves nothing less." She pointed at the tray of chocolates. "The ones I did properly are for onee-sama. These misshapen ones are for you, you flirt."

There it was again, that mysterious, unfathomable glimmer in Sei's eyes. "Shimako doesn't need me anymore. Noriko has given her everything she could want. Their world is just that – theirs alone. And here I was, looking into Shimako's eyes and wondering where that longing glint in her pupils went. It was there after I graduated, but no more. It has healed completely, while I'm still stuck in overdrive with Youko," she blurted.

"Sei-sama?" said Yumi, looking more closely at her. "Is something wrong?" But Sei gave no answer. Instead, she hurried over and wrapped Yumi in her arms, prompting a light cry of surprise from the undead. "Mmmph – " Yumi's eyes fluttered as she felt Sei's lips pressing on her head. But she wasn't playing around. For some reason, she was serious.

What had come over this most dashing of huntresses?

"Oh, Admiral," whispered Yumi submissively, her hands gingerly finding Sei's warm body and giving a light squeeze. She breathed in her scent, the smell of her white shirt. "Is something wrong, Sei-sama?" she wondered. "Talk quietly, or onee-sama will get suspicious." She looked up at the Admiral curiously. Usually she would be struggling for fear of annoying Sachiko, but this time she acquiesced completely to Sei's urgent embrace. "I'm not trying to excuse myself, but… it's not often you look so troubled. You've been acting very strangely tonight. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"If only you had been with us earlier, Yumi-chan," murmured Sei, nuzzling her. "If only you had joined the guilds when I was still a Rose. I could have had more fun. I could have showed off more in front of you. You would have loved me, cool girl that I am. But we can't have everything we want, I guess." She looked regretful. "Sorry, Yumi-chan. I wasn't myself."

"No." Yumi hugged Sei tightly. "It's as you say. If only I had met you when you were Rosa Gigantea. I feel like something is missing inside me because I could only come to know you this year." She breathed in deeply, her preternaturally sensitive nose savoring the former White Rose's bodily fragrance. "I want to be selfish, and dream of you and onee-sama taking care of me like this."

Sei closed her eyes, stroking Yumi's head. "I'm really proud to know you think like that. But I'm not so evil as to steal you from Sachiko for real." She ruffled the top of Yumi's head, running her fingers through those brown strands. "You're too precious for that."

Yumi giggled in delight. "Happy birthday, Sei-sama."

* * *

It was time to retire. "You grow stronger by the day, Yumi," whispered Sachiko, playing with a loose tress of the vampiress's hair as their naked bodies lay together on their warm bed. It was already three in the morning, but Sei's birthday and Christmas bash had lasted quite a while. Yumi, naturally, was wide-awake. "And you're quite good at entertaining everyone, aren't you? I'm a bit jealous, but I also feel proud."

Yumi's expression grew dreamy.

"What are you thinking about, lovely demon?" whispered Rosa Chinensis. "Do tell me."

"A long time ago, while I was still out on the streets, there was this dock worker who was kind enough to give me his leftover fish and chips. He probably couldn't care less, but it was my first time eating it while it was still wrapped in oily newspaper. I was so happy that I went to sit by the Thames to enjoy it. Even though the fish was all cold and the potato had gone soggy…" Yumi gazed into the Red Rose's eyes. "Can we go together for fish and chips one day, by the river?"

Sachiko looked at her in amusement. "Hardly romantic. But in all my time living in London, I've never had food for the working classes, this so-called quick and convenient food. It sounds like a very fun date. Let us go at night, of course – but who would be selling chips so late?"

Yumi giggled and disappeared under the covers, her head vanishing mischievously. "Not impressed? It's because you get treated to state dinners with Lord Lansdowne and Hayashi-sama. Nothing but pompous and luxurious dining for you, onee-sama! Roast pork belly! Veal! Spiced beef!"

"Oh, Yumi – !" cried Sachiko, as she felt the vampire's lips massaging the area around her belly button. Her skin tingled at the vibration of the bouton's words on her tender stomach, and Yumi's bangs tickled her abdomen.

"Don't move, my mistress," came Yumi's muffled voice from under the blanket. "Or I might just _slip_ – " Sachiko let out an enthusiastic sigh as the sweet undead brushed ever so coyly at where _only_ she was allowed, " – and bewitch you."

The Red Rose closed her eyes, her hands slowly clasping the ornate bed frame. She wet her lips in anticipation of the bliss that would soon follow.

"Inspire me, you cheeky vampire."

* * *

_Four months later. Slums of Croydon  
_

Yumi's fluttering and squealing bats pursued the fleeing Shizuka, who hastily turned a corner into a narrow alleyway. Here the darkness was protected from the moonlight by an industrial, working-class apartment block. But as the last few months had proved, the soeurs' strategy of fighting darkness with darkness had paid off. How could a nocturnal being like Shizuka find shelter when Yumi was precisely strongest at nighttime?

"It's strange how it's taken this long. Shizuka is a powerful vampire, but there's only one of her and nine of us. We know she's in Europe gathering support for her master's campaign. But how could she have held out against our combined guilds for so long?" muttered Rei, her military boots pattering across the rooftops. Her sprint quickened as she approached the ledge of the building, and she hurled herself into the air, crossing the four-story void easily. She landed smoothly on the next block and continued her pursuit. "We've wasted far too much time and effort on her. Someone is providing Shizuka with information known only to us. She's been able to anticipate our hunts and operations because someone's been spilling the beans about our movements."

"Who could it be?" whispered Yumi, flying like a wispy fallen angel beside her. Mist and squealing bats surrounded her, and her vampiric aura emanated a glowing bloodshot light. "Could it be that someone's aiding her?"

"Well, if she reckons she can escape us this time, she's got another think coming," growled Rei.

The vampire below Rosa Foetida and Rosa Chinensis en bouton stopped in her tracks as two long braids trailed behind a newcomer that blocked her way. Her black and white blouse billowing in the winter wind, Rosa Foetida en bouton slowly revealed her Mauser semi-automatic, which had been modified with the addition of a very long barrel. "You've got nowhere left to run, Shizuka-sama," she called.

Shizuka looked at Yoshino disdainfully, adjusting the collar of her beige coat. Maggots crawled out of her sleeve and down her hand as Yoshino stared her down. At an accord, they lunged at each other, their guns vomiting out bullets at each other. Yoshino's long barrel spat out barrage after barrage of silver ammunition, and she drew her serrated war blade from a strap around her thigh, somersaulting over the charging Shizuka's pistol. Rosa Canina managed to dodge the ferocious slashes, but the alleyway's cramped space actually worked against her, and she was forced to drop the pistol thanks to another deadly cut from Yoshino's knife, which severed her four fingers. Slinking, wet worms quickly crawled out from her wounds to replace her flesh, but she no longer had any weapons. She glanced up in foreboding as Rei and Yumi shot down from the English night sky and landed behind her.

The Yellow Rose drew her sword. "I really enjoy our hunts together, Yumi-chan. I wonder if Sachiko minds that Yoshino and I bicker with her over you."

"Thank you, Rosa Foetida. But… don't dirty your blade. I'll take her on." Yumi growled, her bestial expression betraying the depths of her true power. "It's over, Shizuka-sama." Her eyes shimmered blood red, and she sprinted towards Shizuka, bristling in bloodlust. It was galling for Shizuka, but the truth was that Yumi was physically stronger than her. The cornered undead bared her fangs, snarling softly as she swiped at Yumi with a ferocious clawed hand, but Yumi evaded it and counterattacked, tearing a gash across Shizuka's chest. Shizuka ignored the pain and attacked the fearsome vampire again, carving her own mark across Yumi's face. Rei and Yoshino shouted out in concern, but the wound across Yumi's small nose, cheekbone and lips quickly closed up, sealing and leaving no trace of injury. Shizuka's eyes widened in trepidation as Yumi went on the offensive, the latter's hands slamming onto the dirty cobblestone path.

"_And the darkness watching over those who sleep… will swallow the darkness that tries to harm them_," snarled Yumi, her fangs glistening in the moonlight.

Beautiful, black wisps of smoke were hissing up from the ground, and before long they began to surround Shizuka, erupting like geysers of deadly ink. The confused vampiress clawed at the tendrils in panic, but they couldn't be stopped, and in one swift movement they shot towards her, two wrapping around Shizuka's struggling wrists and another pair tying themselves mercilessly around her ankles. She kicked and bucked, but her boots couldn't break free – the tendrils' supernatural grip, despite their being made of some unholy substance, was neither solid, liquid or completely gaseous. Hauled high into the air by the coils, she looked down at Rosa Chinensis en bouton in impressed silence. She stopped struggling, her expression calm as she indicated her surrender by relaxing.

She couldn't break free from these faceless creatures that Yumi had summoned from the underworld. Was there any limit to what this vampire could do? Did a human's love and freely given blood matter so much?

"Finally, we have you," growled Yoshino, tucking away her weapons. "You're under arrest."

Shizuka stared down at Yoshino, regaining her lost breath. "You rather dislike me, don't you?" she said in mild amusement, noticing the half-vampire's glare.

"You brought this upon yourself, Shizuka-sama," said Yumi, looking up at the captured vampire and stepping closer. The tendrils continued to hiss, maintaining their tight grip at Yumi's command.

The two fellow vampires stared at each other calmly. "You have defeated me, sister Nosferatu. Most remarkable – not even Rei and Sachiko could bind me like this," acknowledged Shizuka, nodding her head. "What do you want from me, brave hunters?"

"Answers," said Rei, her half-undead eyes glinting as she sheathed her sword. "We've been chasing you for too long. I don't know how you managed to escape our coordinated hunts, and I applaud you for that. But no more. Now we want answers."

"So I think it's time for an inquisition," snarled Yoshino gleefully as she cracked her knuckles. "Soeur style."

* * *

_St. Pancras Parish Church_

The silver wires crafted from Shimako's divine light coiled themselves tightly around Shizuka's body, binding her and sealing off her revolting powers. The sanctum's walls and stained-glass windows had been sealed with Catholic charms from Sachiko's arsenal of holy weapons. The soeurs had moved the pews aside, making room for the Roses and boutons to surround their prey in what was nothing less than a brutal interrogation, huntress style.

As Yoshino had so aptly put it, this was a Lillian inquisition.

Sachiko struck the Pink Rose's shoulder roughly, forcing her to her knees. Shizuka's kneecaps slammed painfully on the church floor. "Well done, ladies," praised Lansdowne, who stood beside Hayashi at a distance from the soeurs. The foreign ministers looked triumphantly at the captive, who bowed her head. "Finally, we can get some answers and end this vampire scourge on His Majesty's soil."

"Now we shall begin the cross-examination," declared Sei, pacing back and forth before Shizuka, a female Sherlock Holmes. "As Fleet Admiral and supreme commander of Greater Japan's navies, I declare myself chief interrogator." She put a finger to her chin. "Let's see, now…" She nodded. "Yes! First question, dear. How did you manage to survive my purge of the vampires back home?"

"And in Tokyo, too," snarled Rei, baring her half-vampire canines. "Sachiko and I personally led the soeurs to victory against the vampiric agents attacking the school. Sei-sama had already destroyed the ships at the ports. There was no way the vampires could have fled across water without aid, or they would die. So how did you escape and get to Europe?"

"You must have had help," accused Yoshino.

"Indeed I had help, soeurs of the Yamayurikai," admitted Shizuka. "I already told Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama. Your memory doesn't seem as impressive as your vampire-hunting skills."

"Enough with the weak taunts," said Youko, raising her hand. A ball of flame hovered over her palm. "You forget. This isn't an interview. We're not adverse to forcing out the answers we need."

"The answers you need – or the answers you want, Youko-sama?" goaded the prisoner. "After all, Yoshino-chan deduced that I'm a lone vampire whose allies had all been killed. Therefore I must have had help coming to Europe."

"Someone who we did not expect to help you did so," said Sachiko. "Someone we were unaware of or even trusted. An insider. Perhaps a spy."

Sei looked at Eriko piercingly, and Eriko glared back. The hunting and violence over these past few months had taken their toll on the typically fragile friendship between the civilian diplomat and military commander. The soeurs were hardly unfamiliar with their rivalry. It was as if they were back in kindergarten, with Sei socking Eriko for pointing out her half-Russian appearance and Eriko scuffling with the other for insulting her large forehead. "If Shizuka isn't leading us on, then I would suspect it was someone with influence, someone who was affiliated or even in Tokyo Lillian College," said Sei. "Perhaps it was an administrator or donor. Or maybe a member of the Yamayurikai… a guild hunter… a Rose," she pondered aloud, staring hard at the former Rosa Foetida.

"Sei-sama, I think you're insinuating something very unreasonable," defended Rei, angered that Sei would even think of suspecting her grande soeur. Yoshino looked equally infuriated. Neither Lansdowne nor Hayashi knew what to say.

"And this is why a civilian should be commander-in-chief of a military," snapped Eriko, who was understandably incensed as well. "Why am I suddenly the villain, _Admiral_? I don't care if you've always resented me or think I'm some closet vampire. You can think whatever crazy, stressed thoughts you want. But you're supposed to be interrogating Shizuka-san, not me. Do the job you assigned yourself properly."

"Sei," cried Youko. "Eriko is right. You're losing yourself. Don't make baseless accusations for their own sake."

"We're straying from our objective, onee-sama," agreed Shimako, as Noriko looked on uneasily.

Yumi looked at Sachiko uncomfortably, who looked equally awkward.

Sei let out a breath, shaking her head. "Fine. I'm sorry. These wild goose chases around London have been so frustrating." She glared down at Shizuka, drawing her revolver and pointing it at her. "Let's continue: you confess to having had help from our side, the side of humanity."

"Yes, I confess," replied Shizuka.

"Were they from Lillian?" asked Noriko.

"They were indeed from Lillian, and as Sei-sama said, they were someone influential within the school. It wasn't a donor or the administration. It was a student." Shizuka's yellow eyes shone. "And yes. They have an affiliation with the guilds you Roses lead."

Yumi felt a chill ring down her spine from her fellow vampiress's gaze. Something was wrong. It was as if Shizuka enjoyed being interrogated, and was too willing to give away the answers. What was this perturbed, edgy feeling Yumi was experiencing? Why was Shizuka pleased that the soeurs were asking all the right questions? "Onee-sama," whispered Yumi to her mistress. "I don't have a good feeling about this. It's almost as if she's leading us on."

"I can feel it too, Yumi," agreed Sachiko.

Shimako stepped forward. "Shizuka-sama. I ask that you give us the most direct answers possible. Who is this person who saved you in Japan, from my grande soeur's purge? And has she been hosting your activities in this city?"

Shizuka paused before drawling out her reply. "Yes, she has. She was in close contact with me ever since I first arrived."

"So our suspicions were right." Yumi felt her heart leap into her throat, and Eriko looked nervous. The eyes of Sei and Shizuka met. "Spit it out! Who is this former Rose? I don't care if she's an Old Girl. We're going to destroy her along with you, and end this undead war in London."

A triumphant Shizuka smiled. "Why, my commander is none other than you. Satou Sei-sama. Who else but Japan's Admiral could have arranged for me to board a ship and sail safely away from home? Who else could have ordered me to come here, recruit servants to the vampires' cause, and lay the foundations for your return to England? I have done everything you asked, my Lady. Now, why don't you come clean with everyone and let me get on with my work?"

Sachiko raised an incredulous eyebrow, and Rei and Yoshino barked out in laughter. Even Shimako was shaking her head. It was so anticlimactic. It was such a weak, desperate lie, a total letdown. "What an obvious, corny bluff," scoffed Noriko. She unsheathed her _tanto_. "Try harder, or answer us properly."

But Eriko's usually bored eyes widened in an emotion she hadn't felt in a long time –

Utter, total fear.

It was not fear from having any of her secrets exposed. It was fear from the realization that she should have trusted her more cynical instincts.

It was true that from the moment she met Sei as a kindergartner, she couldn't stand her arrogance (although Sei could have said the same of her). It was true that she often disagreed with her way of doing things. But for all the difficulties between her and the former White Rose, she had always seen Sei as a friend. Despite their sometimes tense and frustrating relationship, Eriko had never lost faith in Sei's kindness and certainly believed in her loyalty to the Emperor. She had always, _always_ hoped that her nagging qualms about the troubling frequency with which Shizuka managed to escape the soeurs were unfounded. She had kept quiet about how the campaign against the Pink Rose had dragged suspiciously on for too long. Perhaps the guilds had simply been off their game. But alas, it couldn't have been that simple.

She was too used to being correct.

Sei turned around to face the soeurs, smiling as warmly as ever. "And that's my cue, I guess. Better now than earlier, right?" she asked, as her hand twirled her pistol and aimed it at Eriko. Before the bewildered soeurs could even move, before Rei or Yoshino could dive to block the thorns or push Eriko away, the ex-Yellow Rose already felt her chest explode, gushing forth blood from the bullets that punctured her lungs and lodged in her torso. Eyes wide, she screamed shrilly and hysterically as she watched her own gore spatter Rei and Yoshino's confounded, stunned faces. The former Rosa Foetida coughed blood as she collapsed on all fours, the thorns of Jesus Christ piercing into her heart.

Time seemed to stop. "Onee-sama!" screamed Shimako, and Yumi and the other soeurs shrieked in disbelief. "How? _Why_?"

But the Admiral wasn't finished yet. She whipped around, shooting at the wires that bound Shizuka. Shimako's divine metal melted away at the touch of the Savior's bullets, and Rosa Canina rose, standing behind Sei and observing the horrified soeurs smugly as she dusted off her coat. Sachiko pulled a dazed Yumi to her, backing away as Rei and Yoshino shrieked their panic and hatred and terror, swinging their blades at Sei. But Shizuka's hands, which were crawling with metal-devouring maggots and muck, blocked the paths of Rei's sword and Yoshino's serrated knife, and Sei fired a thorn into Rei and Yoshino each. The relic power of the thorns began to take effect in the half-vampires' bodies, paralyzing them, constraining them with wildly growing vines and tendrils that squeezed their torsos, pulled back their arms, wrapped themselves around their wrists and necks. The two soeurs struggled desperately, unable to raise their weapons, as they bellowed and cried and wailed for the diplomat who lay bleeding and convulsing on the ground. "Eriko-sama!" screamed Yumi, a lump of cold misery in her throat. "Eriko-sama!"

"What… _what have you done to me_!" screeched the crying Eriko, blood gushing from her mouth and onto her hands, spilling onto the church floor. Sei pressed the trigger again and again, sending another three rounds into the former Yellow Rose's torso. The ambassador twitched as more blood sprayed from her body, and Rei and Yoshino roared in despair, their desperation and undead strength no match for the vines grown from Sei's bullets.

Sei's vampiric agent smiled in relish. It had been a most exhilarating game, pretending that her own mistress, her very commander, had been her foe.

"Not your lucky day I'm afraid, _dekochin_," murmured the Admiral. The reflection in her eyes had changed. Her face, usually so light-hearted and frisky, turned deadly serious as she twirled her pistol with a finger. "Hear me loud and clear, gentlemen. Tell your King, Lord Lansdowne, and tell our Emperor, Viscount Hayashi:

"I, Satou Sei, declare war on Britain and Japan."

"Protect them! Protect them at all costs!" shrieked Shimako, gesturing frantically towards the petrified Lansdowne and Hayashi. "Noriko!" The men were slowly backing away, visibly trembling at this horrific act of sedition.

"Sei-kun… how could you deceive _Tennou Heika_ like this?" cried Hayashi. "Do you know what you're throwing away right now?"

"Were you planning to betray the Crown all along?" whispered Lansdowne. "How dare you… how dare you take advantage of His Majesty's trust…"

Noriko leaped in front of the two men, grabbing their clammy hands. Although the ninja was just as appalled and outraged by Sei's completely unforeseen betrayal, her discipline and training kept her calm. Her teeth pulled the chain of a waiting smoke bomb affixed near her shoulder, and it fell to the church floor, detonating into a smokescreen that gave her the diversion to whisk the ministers away. Yumi cried Sei's name again, and Sachiko's eyes were wide in fury as she drew Flower Stalk. Yumi glanced at Sachiko's enraged expression, and by instinct she bared her fangs, preparing to pounce. Her fingers twitched, as her instinct demanded her to move, to attack, and to avenge Eriko before anything worse happened. But her heart could not believe that the flirtatious, wise, kind Sei could have done this. The most charismatic and gallant of the soeurs! It was a nightmare, surely a nightmare she would awaken from soon.

"Admiral Sei-sama! Why?" she screamed.

Youko's expression however, was simply one of dismay. She hadn't moved at all, not even raised her wand to attack. She should have attacked! She was the only soeur who could have been a match for Sei, but it was she who was the most helpless here.

"Sei…" She stared into Sei's calm eyes. "So you never forgave me."

"Forgave you? What's going on, onee-sama?" cried Sachiko, swinging her sword at Sei, only to have it blocked by Shizuka's arm. "Sei-sama, explain yourself for this vile betrayal!"

Sei's eyes shone. "You two weren't supposed to see this, Shimako and Yumi-chan," she said, ignoring Sachiko. "I wish I could've done this while you weren't here. But I have greater things to see now." She suddenly aimed Forest of Thorns at Youko, shooting her in the leg and forcing the witch to fall on one knee painfully. She strode over and pulled her up roughly, shoving the barrel of her gun against the side of Youko's head. "I felt really bad when you gave me that birthday cake, you know. I won't defend myself and say I deserved it."

"This is not the Sei-sama I know," whispered Sachiko. Her hand was quivering in indignation as it gripped her swordstick. "The Sei I know is an insufferable flirt who likes to push my buttons and tease my bouton. Her arrogance is excruciating, but the light in her heart is undeniable." She gritted her teeth. "_You are not Sei_! Release onee-sama!"

"Oh, trust me, it's not like I've gone and switched my brain for another's," growled Sei breathlessly, pushing the revolver's barrel harder against Youko's hair. Although the broken sorceress was very much alive, she simply stared into empty space, her eyes dead and their light extinguished. "And I'm not mental, either. I know exactly what I'm doing. Shizuka!" The traitor smiled. "Whisk us away, my Pink Rose."

The vampire who had pretended to be Sei's enemy raised her hand in victory as her black smoke began to envelop her and her commander. Youko didn't even struggle, her eyes helpless and defeated as they met Sachiko's. Sachiko screamed for her onee-sama and drew her pistol, firing wildly and hatefully at Shizuka. But she had already disappeared amidst her unholy smoke, along with Youko and Sei. "Goodbye, Yumi-chan, Shimako," echoed Sei's gentle voice, and Shimako fell to the floor, not caring as her knees hit the ground. "I'm sorry."

Yumi hadn't moved all this time, her heart simply frozen as she watched her mentor and teacher figure betray the entire Yamayurikai. "This can't be," murmured the vampire, her body feeling weak. "This can't be." Her mind was running wild. Was this why Sei had been behaving so strangely on Christmas Eve some months back? When she had said all those strange things, and told Yumi how she wished they could have met earlier?

Sachiko rushed over to the Foetida cousins and severed their vines in several strokes. "Onee-sama!" wept Rei, running to and kneeling over the dying Eriko. "She took Youko with her! We have no magic to heal onee-sama with!"

Her ribs exposed and her innards blown open, Eriko panted noiselessly, her eyesight failing as her world flickered. "Damn you, Sei. And this is why… I could never stand you." She vomited out yet more gore, feeling unsure about her chances. "I never knew what you were thinking in that pretty head of yours." She looked up at a teary Yoshino, her breathing growing fainter by the heartbeat. "Shizuka's leader… the commander of all these vampires in London… the fiend orchestrating this whole farce, the one we've been trying to find… is none other than…"

"Don't speak, onee-sama! _Onee-sama_!" Rosa Foetida bawled like a child as her grande soeur's life slipped from her hands like sand. Yumi pursed her lips, striding over to the dying senior. She closed her eyes as bats began to flutter outside the church. They burst in through the stained-glass windows, breaking them, and flew around Eriko's trembling body, squealing at Yumi for orders.

"I'll stem the flow of blood for now, but Sei-sama's bullets have the blessing of the Messiah. They'll resist the healing powers of a creature of the night. My bats can only rush Eriko-sama to the hospital so she can be saved," whispered Yumi. Yoshino's eyes glowed hatefully as tears poured down her cheeks. Sachiko lowered her head, seething in fury. Now Youko was captured, too.

"She will pay," came Shimako's mild voice. The Foetida and Chinensis soeurs turned in surprise to Rosa Gigantea, who had recovered somewhat. Her expression was wracked with pain, yet resolute. "One should not forget that for all her authority, I am still the White Rose," said Shimako. "With Maria-sama's favor, and with Noriko and everyone, I will confront onee-sama." She looked at Yumi. "Yumi-san, noble vampire. Will you stand by me? Will you be able to look my grande soeur in the eye when we challenge her?"

Yumi felt as if something had died inside her. Her voice came out as a groan, a croak.

How had their happiness come to this?

"Yes, Shimako-san," she gritted, her fangs glimmering. "No matter how long it takes and how much blood I must shed, I will defeat Sei-sama."

* * *

_Westminster Abbey_

Sei strode past the opened Great North Door to the vast and lavishly bedecked church of English royalty, her military boots tapping lightly on the cool floor.

"You did well, Rosa Canina," she said, as the Pink Rose stood at attention before her. Shizuka bowed at the waist dutifully, but Sei took her by the chin and tilted her head upwards, smiling down at the vampire. Shizuka stared up in pleased surprise as her superior bent down, lightly kissing her on the nose. "Apparently, you took acting classes alongside your opera training. A reward is in order." Her eyes swam in the undead's. "I can't give you my deepest love, but I most certainly will give you my tasty blood. And with that freely given blood, you'll be able to enjoy the same power as Yumi-chan."

"Everything has been prepared as you commanded, Admiral," murmured Shizuka, her eyes dreamy. "The Dean and Canons have all fallen under my spell, along with Rector of St. Margaret's. They won't be objecting to our accommodation here in this lovely sanctum. The British royals will have no way of barging in here – and I'm sure Westminster's officials have had the good sense to flee by now. And the British Army wouldn't dare presume to attack you, not with the power you hold."

"Ghost ships," declared the grinning Sei. "My warships are approaching the coast of south England, along with the undead soldiers on board. I wage war against my own country and Britain for what they forced me to do… for what they forced Youko to do. Why do they think I single-handedly destroyed the vampire race back home? It was to return their blood to their rightful owner, so that she could return to me."

"And we shall see her very soon, shan't we?" confirmed Shizuka. "I wonder if I could compete with her for your supreme affections."

"Don't get cocky just because you deflected the soeurs' attention from me," chided Sei, kissing her double agent on the lips. "But credit where credit's due. Good work, my vampire champion."

"Thank you, my human mistress," whispered Shizuka, who looked as if she would cry in joy. "I am your slave forever."

Someone stepped out from the shadows to join Shizuka – it was a benevolent-looking girl with wide-framed glasses. "Welcome to Westminster, Sei," she said, smiling. "As your advisor, I've been keeping the place warm in anticipation for your return."

Sei returned the greeting. "It's good to be back, Katou Kei. Long time no see. And now…"

She turned to her left, where Shizuka had tied Youko to a tall, wooden pole unseen since Europe's Middle Ages. The immobilized witch, her back facing the wall, made no attempt to break free, shattered as she was by the realization that Sei never had any intention of releasing the past. Her eyes, unusually emotional for someone of her personality, desperately tried to meet Sei's. "Don't do this to our petite soeurs," begged the sorceress, as Sei walked over to her. "Your desire and your craving: if you must blame me, unleash Hell on me alone. Don't drag the others into this. Don't consume London in your longing." She shook her head, her lip trembling. "You thanked me on Christmas Eve. Was it so you could do all this without feeling the pangs of conscience?" Unshed tears shone from her reproachful eyes and her voice shook. "Sei. Did you think such a trifle could absolve you of your treason against the Emperor? Against our guilds? Against everyone… so many of us."

Sei took her longtime comrade by the cheek and kissed her deeply, her tongue lapping at the insides of Youko's trembling mouth. Youko fell silent as their mouths locked wetly, unable to struggle, too dizzy to comprehend what was happening. All she knew was that Sei had broken her, that this wretched, abused life was the best she could hope for, and because of this the tears left her closed eyelids at last. As Sei's fingers left Youko's chin, she gazed into at witch's tear-stained, pleading expression. "Me thanking you? A trifle? By your own admission, it means a lot to you. You can't fool me," she whispered. "Watch, sweetheart. Watch, and look upon the face of our hated enemy, who we killed two years ago."

She released Youko and continued her triumphant stroll up the aisle, past the adorned _sacrarium_ and the beautified shrine of St. Edward the Confessor. She ignored them both, approaching the brass gates of the Henry VII Lady Chapel, a holy sepulcher that was also Westminster Abbey's far eastern terminus. Kei and Shizuka watched as Sei raised her gun and fired callously at the locks of the brass gates blocking her way to the _orbis miraculum_. This sacred sanctuary housed the bodies of many English monarchs. The barrier fell apart and collapsed, and the dusty chapel shook. Sei walked up the stairs. The sepulcher's complex, pendant fan vault ceiling yawned over the girls, and the rebuking silence of the high walls was deafening. The Admiral moved towards Pietro Torrigiano's masterfully sculpted and erected altar, behind which lay the tombs of Henry VII and James I. But the rotted corpses of the English knights and sovereigns did not concern Sei.

"_The light reveals the dark_," drawled the graduated White Rose, her smile winding into an unnaturally eager grin.

Responding to the infernal password of black magic, the altar's outer façade slowly crumbled to reveal a tomb within the tomb, a grave within the mausoleum itself. Standing before her in the murky ruins was a coffin of perfect ebony, engraved with a prayer sealed by generation after generation of hunters in the Satou family, from Sei all the way back to her great-great grandmother. The inscription on the raven coffin was a Marian devotion, but Maria-sama's protective power mattered little to Sei. Tonight, like all her forebears, she would turn against her own calling for the sake of her twisted longing, a love for her own enemy. She shouted out another command, an invitation, a notice that she had finally arrived, and the coffin began to creak, its lid slowly moving to the left – further and further – until it fell to one side and slammed gracelessly onto the black, white and grey floor stones.

The coffin now revealed the limp, open-mouthed skeleton inside, cushioned in purple velvet. It stared at the Admiral silently, its arms crossed pathetically and its wide eye sockets ogling her mindlessly.

Sei's lip trembled at the wretched, macabre sight, slowly lowering herself to her knees. "You've been imprisoned here for too long. The fault is Youko's. And mine." She gritted her teeth as she drew a small dagger from her belt. "I won't make the same mistake I made in my second year. I won't hurt you like I did in Transylvania."

Her grey eyes widened as she braced herself for the sharp pain to come. "Taste me once more. Taste the blood of your nemesis, and lust for my family line once more."

She screamed a blasphemous shout as she plunged the dagger into her forearm, and blood spurted from her skin and seeped out her shirt, creeping slowly towards the altar, reaching the base of the coffin. It was slowly sucked up into the black wood, and as the blood ignored gravity and oozed upwards along the rim and insides of the coffin, the skeleton began to change color, its pallid yellow unhurriedly turning into a healthy white. Flesh and skin bubbled up from the hard matter and wrapped itself around the skeleton, first as slopping blood and liquid bile, and then as ripe, pink flesh and then pale skin. A face of utter tranquility slowly grew around the gaping expression of the skull. Within moments those muscles were twitching, pulsing with life, and skin burst forth from the regenerating tissue. Cartilage covered the nose. Fluid and jelly visibly bubbled and reformed in the eye sockets, prompting Katou Kei to make a revolted expression. The skin of the renewed eyelids now blinked, surprised out of their owner's slumber, but when her opened eyes fell on the kneeling Sei and her bleeding arm, everything came together and realization dawned on her. Her long, immortal hair was shining once more, its dark tresses spilling out behind her as she let out a quiet sigh.

But it didn't stop with her body. Even her clothes were regenerating, unfolding into a sumptuous, one-piece robe of dark green with silver lining. The robe draped around her shoulders and torso, leaving her forearms and lithe legs sensually exposed.

"I remember your face. Your smile as you held me, two years ago, and told me you loved me," greeted Kubo Shiori sweetly, her tender voice melodic and welcoming.

"_Gokigenyou_, Sei-sama."

* * *

"The Countess," whispered Shizuka in awe. "_She_, the queen, mother, empress of all night-kin. Mistress of the night. How fitting, that she was interred here in the citadel of English monarchs." Almost naturally, the vampiress fell down on one knee in reverence. Being a human, Kei didn't see the need and only looked on intently. Sei's heart melted once more as she feasted her eyes on the magnificent resurrection before her. She let out a low moan, which loudened into a cry that echoed throughout the tainted abbey. Youko could only stare in transfixed horror, watching her friend and unrequited love prostrate before the sworn enemy of humanity, the archfiend they had killed only two years ago. That had been the whole point, hadn't it? To watch over London with the support of the British King, to stand as sentinels, together, in the city that had the resources to seal the corpse of the creature along with its deceased monarchs, desecration though it may have been.

But clearly, the desperate plan had failed. An infernal pact of damnation was being renewed before Youko's eyes.

"Two years," murmured the smiling girl, having woken up from a pleasant dream. She rubbed her eyes softly. She looked down, waved her hand, and Sei's self-inflicted wound instantly closed up, leaving nothing but bloodstained sleeves. "Hardly an eternity. Yet for two years, you and Youko-sama imprisoned my memories here after destroying me in Transylvania. And before that, your mother killed me in my castle, and your grandmother in my tomb in Austria. So I have slept here amongst the bodies of the English knights. But as long as _you_ remember me, I will never truly die." She flexed her frail, stiff fingers. "As I was chased, seduced and slain by generation after generation of your ancestors, my attachment to each of you became so strong that I dreamed myself into becoming your family's guiltiest fantasy – " She placed her hands on her chest reverently, closing her eyes in bliss at having been roused from her sleep. "And that's why I've taken on this infirm body, this fragile frame that you call 'Kubo Shiori' – this is the Satou family's shameful secret, the result of our mutual, deranged love."

"I have no intention of forgetting you, Countess," gritted Sei, crawling closer. Slightly unbalanced, the queen of the night stepped out unsteadily from her coffin, her bare, thin legs exposed to the cool floor stones of the chapel, and the Admiral's quivering hand reached for them. Breathing heavily, amorously, her heartbeat that of a long-forgotten lover's, her lips descended on the Countess's bare feet. "I am here to follow what was destined for us, Shiori," she whispered, before pressing her mouth on those feet. "Just like my mother, grandmother, and ancestors."

"As it has been so for centuries. I loved every Satou woman who killed me," said Shiori somberly, "and now the mantle has passed on to you. And so now, I love you, Sei-sama. With every fiber of my immortal being." The arch-vampiress gazed around her as Sei continued to kiss and nibble her feet. Dark tendrils began to rise around the couple, thick, dancing branches of utter darkness, purer than empty space, blacker than black itself. Suddenly, the stained-glass windows looked to be stained with dripping blood. Westminster Abbey was no longer a house of God. It belonged to the Countess now. "I hereby declare this sanctuary my throne. I hereby claim this city as my dominion." She looked down at the sighing Sei, whose eyes were closed in bewitched bliss. "Fight for my eternal memories. Slay them, and then perpetuate them yet again, Admiral. My Sei-sama."

Shizuka and Kei looked on appreciatively as the mad Admiral tenderly, worshipfully ran her sensual lips over the Countess's legs. A silent and bound Youko closed her eyes in anguished despair, not even bothering to struggle against her ropes.

A toxic, sinister cloud was gathering over Westminster Abbey.

Breathing heavily at the touch of Sei's mouth, the Countess raised her clawed hands to her face, and opened her mouth to utter her greatest, debauched curse – the curse of her depraved love. Her long fangs glimmered monstrously as her sweet eyes began to glow with the insanity of a centuries-old, demonic affection.

"_I shall love and twist this world… in the same way Sei-sama and I love and twist each other_."

* * *

**The night rejoices at Kubo Shiori's awakening. A satanic shadow falls over London as the soeurs come to terms with Sei's devastating betrayal. Can they survive the combined onslaught of the Admiral and the Countess? **

**Next chapter: Youko and Sei's past, on the Transylvanian mountains in ****1900**… 

* * *

_Tokyo Lillian College Emergency Dossiers_

Name: The Countess/Kubo Shiori  
Guild: None  
Rank: Countess, mistress of all vampires and undead  
Weapon/s: None needed. As the supreme vampire, the Countess is the only undead that holds true eternal life, able to exist as long as there are human beings afraid of the dark. She currently takes the form of a Japanese girl in a green and silver robe.  
Profile: The Countess is an ancient force of nature, a primal, self-aware idea. Once known across the continents as Lilith, Izanami, Aphrodite, Freya, and more, the Countess's current name, Kubo Shiori, reflects the recent change that has come over her since the 1800's, when she began to be pursued by a family of hunters with the clan name of Satou. As the Countess fought, seduced and was slain by generation after generation of Satou women, her attachment to each Satou girl became so strong that she dreamed herself into becoming a vampire of the Satou family's darkest and guiltiest fantasies: a frail, devoted girl called Kubo Shiori. The affection between Shiori and the Satou lineage became so destructive that both have fallen insane, with each generation of Satou hunters defeating her, only to give in to their doomed love. She was defeated in Austria by Sei's grandmother and then in Transylvania by Sei's mother, before being sealed up behind the altar of the Henry VII Lady Chapel during Sei and Youko's school years. Freed, the mistress of the night has returned from her slumber and awakens to the dawn of modernity, to make London her new city.

Name: Satou Sei  
Guild: Gigantea  
Rank: Former Rosa Gigantea, Fleet Admiral of the Imperial Navy of the Japanese Empire  
Weapon/s: A unique, modified Webley Mk revolver called "Forest of Thorns," armed with the thorns of Christ's crown.  
Profile: Satou Sei – the most popular, charismatic, gallant soeur of all – is a traitor. In an act of treason that has left Torii Eriko critically injured and the Lillian guilds in total chaos, Sei has captured Youko and set into motion an ambitious campaign to destroy all three guilds, along with the British and Japanese Empires. For two years she has planned the return of her Countess and great love, Shiori – true to the Satou family's unhinged, trans-generational love for the Countess. She has not let friendship with the soeurs, or even her affection for Youko, Shimako and Yumi, to stop her secret campaign. To this end she has amassed a mighty undead force, led by her loyal double agent Shizuka and her lieutenant and friend, Katou Kei. In love with each other beyond the point of madness, Satou Sei and Kubo Shiori have revealed themselves as the real villainesses of Rose and Fang.

* * *

A/N: … And so begins my grand attempt to make the popular Sei the "baddie" of a Marimite fic (please don't hate me *hides*). Thanks for reading this far. It was a long chapter! I was planning her emergence as a villain ever since I started this AU because I wanted a unique antagonist, one who would be more compelling than Kashiwagi. This and the previous four chapters is the result of that planning. I'd like to see Sei through Yumi's eyes as the vampire prepares to confront a human _sempai_ she admires.

The war between undead and humans becomes a civil war between the soeurs, with Yumi on one side of the River Styx and Sei on the other… can Yumi and Sachiko defeat Sei and Countess Shiori, or has history sentenced the soeurs to extinction?

Here we go! O.O


	6. The Battle of the Carpathian Mountains

**Chapter 6**

**The Battle of the Carpathian Mountains**

* * *

A/N: Hi, welcome back, and thanks for reading~! I hope you don't mind a quick interlude from the usual Sachiko x Yumi, because it's time to indulge in some unhealthy Youko x Sei shipping. XD I can't write much for the next two weeks but I've planned the last few chapters (Rose and Fang will have about 9 to 10 total), and I'm always around online. ^.^

The undead Yumi and her human soeur, the Red Rose Sachiko: two lives, one loving family. At least, that was what it should have been. Last chapter, the soeurs' lives were shattered by the betrayal of their best and strongest. Satou Sei is the master directing all vampiric activities in London, and from her recent awakening of Shiori, it is clear her authority over the undead extends across Europe. The most important bond of all, the soeur vow, has been broken.

The Satou bloodline and the Countess share a warped relationship that drove generations of Satou women insane. This grotesque pact renewed itself two years ago, in 1900. Descending from the heights of the Carpathian Mountain range, the two most powerful hunters in Lillian history attacked the eternal stronghold of the Countess. Here, at the desolate ends of the undead world, the inseparable Youko and Sei faced their greatest adventure and challenge.

I've been preparing this chapter to share their history and how it led to Sei's betrayal. Please R&R but most importantly enjoy…

* * *

_December 24__th__, 1900. Somewhere on the border of Romania_

High up in the vast, sweeping Carpathian Mountains, a lone, tiny figure was scaling the ridges to reach the snow peaks.

Satou Sei's muscles burned in exertion. The crampon spikes of her Siberian boots dug deeper into the snow-caked mountainside. Her gloved left hand, protected by the pelt of grizzly bears, gripped the rough edge of the slippery, rimy rock as she swung her ice axe with her right arm, its sharp pick chipping past the slush and into stone. Her long, half-Russian, half-Japanese hair spilled out behind her, but the rest of her head was covered in a thick cloth, leaving only a space for her eyes. She was dripping with warm sweat, and it ran down her slender back, past her forehead and onto her nose and lips, all along her straining limbs, and down her torso and stomach. But that was to be expected when she was insulated head to toe by the best quality fabric the Japanese imperial government could provide. Far better to be all hot and bothered than freezing to death from frostbite.

She panted into the cloth covering her lips, blinking away loose snowflakes that kissed her long eyelashes. Her grey irises glinted amid the chilly hoarfrost. It raged around her, threatening to dislodge her from her precarious position.

She growled in determination and continued to climb, her miniscule form surrounded by the screaming, deafening blizzard that would have knocked away any other climber brave enough to conquer the natural barrier of Transylvania.

Ace huntress. Explorer. Second-year bouton. National heroine. The superstar of Lillian College trusted her training, her experience and her instincts, her heart pounding in excitement as she patiently advanced towards the mountaintop. She clenched her jaw in concentration as she reached up, grabbing a ledge that she had mapped out and identified as secure at base camp several weeks earlier. She swung her ice axe again, denting the ice further up. Soon she would be able to observe the enemy's fortresses from an unsurpassed vantage point.

Beyond the borders of this mountain range was the last stronghold of her enemies. On direct order of the Japanese Emperor, Sei had launched a daring, one-girl invasion of Eastern Europe. Her discreet infiltration made sure there were no diplomatic embarrassments with the Western kingdoms. After weeks of secret war, Imperial Japan's most renowned huntress had cut a trail of annihilation through the vampire principalities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Now she was on her final campaign: to strike at the heart of the vampire dominion with the help of just one other girl.

"Youko!" she shouted above the snowstorm. "We've left Romanian territory. We're almost at the border of Transylvania."

An airborne bubble flew past Sei in the direction of the mountain peak. Within that bubble was Lillian College's most accomplished sorceress, whose levitating forcefield was more than enough to resist the blizzard. "I'll scout ahead of you, Sei," called Youko, who wore similar garments to her ally, except that her bear's pelt was black. She waved her wand, and she shot upwards. The mountaineer smirked and continued to climb, preferring the challenge of this strenuous workout (an understatement to say the least). It took her more than thirty minutes to complete her route, and by the time her body had reached the peak, the blizzard had dispelled, opening the skies up to a dull sun and illuminated clouds that were tinted yellow. Shifting from the mountain's edge, she crawled onto the slightly more even ground, pulling her aching lower body up and dragging herself along the snow. She left her ice axe on the ground and stood up, only to have Youko bump into her.

"Hey, watch it – huh?"

The witch had been slowly retreating from a cohort of elaborately dressed horsemen blocking their way. But they weren't any normal Hungarian riders, despite their famous red and black coats with Austrian knots and tall fur hats. Their black, armored horses had red orbs for eyes rather than living pupils. Blood dripped from the vampires' repulsive, hollow eye sockets; gore flowed ceaselessly from the mouths. The gushing fluids from their facial orifices were unnatural, animated by necromantic wizardry. The sleet below the riders was dyed with their own life currency.

These horses and their grotesque masters… they were vampires of Wallachia Principality, strong enough to roam about even in daylight.

Countess Shiori's elite servants.

"I was waiting for you to finish and get up here," declared Youko wryly, keeping a close eye on the sabers, lances and pistols the horsemen were armed with. "Help me out."

Sei's eyes narrowed, recognizing the feared badges and the double-headed eagle insignia of the mountain corps. "They're Hussars, the elite cavalry of the Eastern Europeans. So Shiori has made them hers, too."

"Now all of the Continent knows Lillian's precious hunters are here, in a desperate bid to contain Her Excellency's power," sneered one of the Hussars, his high black boots planted on his stirrups. Gore sprayed from his filthy mustached mouth with every exhalation, with every word he uttered. It spattered his own uniform, soaking into his clothes and the horse's reins. He bared his repulsive, bloodstained teeth. "The Countess will be greatly pleased when we take your body to her. She desires you, huntress, more painfully than you can imagine. You'd know about all that… wouldn't you?"

"_Sei-sama_."

Clenching shut her eyes, Sei shook her head angrily, doing her best to ignore the tender, seductive, yet palpably infernal voice echoing in the recesses of her aching skull. The horsemen laughed and guffawed amongst each other cruelly. "Yes! Every woman who bears the family name of Satou has been cursed by her hereditary love for Her Excellency. And Her Excellency has likewise been driven mad by her generations-old longing for her own killers! You know your fate, human champion. Go to our mistress. Go to her, and fight no more."

Youko glanced at the swooning bouton worriedly. Ever since they had arrived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the visitations were becoming ever more frequent. Even though Youko slept beside Sei wherever they lodged, she would always hear her partner muttering and groaning in her slumber. The nightmares and visions came every witching hour. And sometimes, there was even a thin, ink-black form straddling the groaning Sei, sighing in longing and affection. The foreboding figure always seemed to dissipate into thin air before a yelling Youko could chase it away. The couple already had a good idea of who that shadowy figure was, although Youko could do nothing but hold the shaking and crying Sei at the crack of dawn, almost possessively, as if to reassure themselves that the boutons belonged only with each other.

But for now, on the mountaintop of the Carpathian range, Sei didn't let Youko worry. There was hunting to be done. She whipped aside her fur cloak and revealed a curved, blessed saber in her hand. The laughing Hussars fell silent upon seeing it, and their bleeding expressions turned serious. Only the sickening sound of spurting blood from their orifices could be heard.

"Bring it, arse-face," challenged Sei in perfect German.

It was times like these that Youko remembered why her partner was so fantastic.

The undead horses whinnied as the horsemen drew their swords from their scabbards. "Attack!" roared their regiment commander, raising his sword. The night-black, undead steeds broke into a charge, their masters roaring in bloodlust as their hooves thundered in the snow, kicking up ice and frost. Sei matched their aggression, somersaulting into the air and swinging her sword, which clanged roughly against a Hussar's saber. She landed, spinning down low and slashing at a horse's legs, slicing its four hooves. Meanwhile, Youko's hands began to glow with azure energy, crafting an orb of freezing ice that she hurled at another Hussar. The horse was thrown off its hooves from the force of the blast, and the falling horseman's mustached head was blown apart by a quick fireball spell. The leaping Sei cut apart a charging Hussar, her saber digging past his shoulder blade and passing through his chest. The horse whinnied in panic as it lost control, and its undead rider toppled off. Another Hussar's horse neighed in distress as he slashed at Youko, only to have the slush around him gather to form sharp icicles that flew up and thrust into his legs. He screamed and fell off his steed, and Sei finished him with a cut to the throat.

"Formation!" bellowed the Hussar commander. "Form a prison!"

Their boots crunching in the snow, Sei and Youko stood back-to-back, their weapons raised. The girls watched the Hussars warily as the undead soldiers encircled them, their horses clopping around them. "Makes you wish you'd gotten Sachiko and Rei to come, no?" breathed Youko, her black, cropped hair brushing tightly against Sei's head. "I hope you don't mind the possibility of dying with just me by your side. You should have hung out with more girls."

"I don't want anyone else. I already have you. You're the only girl I need," declared Sei, licking her lips. "They don't call us the inseparable duo for nothing." The White bouton's blonde hair wandered along the back of her Red counterpart's neck as she raised her saber – and to the Hussars' surprise, she threw it at them. The spinning blade lopped off a shocked horseman's head, and it sloughed off his neck and plopped to the snowy ground. But the remaining Hussars barked in laughter – surely Sei had made a foolhardy choice – until they realized that the blade was no longer flying a normal trajectory, but returning to them, still spinning in mid-air. The undead guards howled in duped outrage as Youko smiled, her hand telepathically guiding Sei's spinning saber to fly into the Hussar formation. It soared around the huntresses in a broad circle, carving through neck after neck, slicing off head after head, until the entire encirclement of disbelieving Hussars had died the second death, their tall fur hats slipping off their skulls and their skulls off their shoulders. The bloodsoaked trophies tumbled to the ground even as Youko dispelled her magic and Sei caught the hilt of the spinning saber in her hand.

All around them lay shocked, silent heads with mustaches. No longer did blood gush from their mouths, eyes, ears and nostrils. Only those open mouths and empty eye sockets remained, staring at the Japanese couple hatefully. The vampiric horses whinnied in defeat and fled in different directions across the high peak, the beheaded bodies of their masters slumped against them or dangling limply by their flanks.

Youko felt Sei relax behind her. "Good call," sighed the White bouton.

"Thank you," murmured Youko, lowering her wand.

"The coast is clear, right?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

Youko felt Sei turn around and wrap her arms tightly around her. The saber dropped to the ground, sinking slightly into the snow. "Shiori's voice… it's stopped for now," came Sei's slightly trembling voice.

"I think even the Countess doesn't want to interrupt this moment," joked Youko quietly, enjoying how Sei's distressed words could still tickle her ear so. Her cold hand reached up and clasped her beloved's fur gloves. Their teamwork really was quite extraordinary, especially after studying together since their first year. Granted, from the beginning it was Youko who had asked Sei to accompany her, but the Red bouton understood that her comrade didn't like to stay with anyone unless she was sure she could do so without being judged for her unusual personality and opinions.

"It seems like it is only early afternoon, but nightfall will come upon us without warning," said Youko, as Sei released her. "We'll freeze up at this altitude if we don't find shelter for the evening."

"Easy," said the ace huntress, picking up her saber and sheathing it. "We'll find an abandoned cave, an empty crevice, anywhere we can start a fire until tomorrow, when we hunt down Shiori." She looked at Youko, their eyes meeting. "Just the two of us, like always."

True to Youko's warning, the sun was beginning to slowly but visibly descend past the high Carpathian peaks. After all, it was Christmas. And here in Europe, winter nights came so much sooner.

All the more reason to start a campfire and snuggle in each other's arms.

* * *

It was tiny, cramped cave. But it was tucked away from the howling wind and snow that returned as eventide rested over the Carpathian Mountains. Sei had gathered the few twigs and branches that had strayed from the forests around the highlands. Youko had ignited them into a warm fire with a wave of her wand, and with that they could settle down for the night. Sei took off her gloves and sat down on the cold rock ground, lifting away her bear pelt and insulating cloth. She could finally breathe fully again. She rubbed her hands, breathing on them before holding them closer to the crackling flame. Her grey eyes danced with jumping sparks as she stared absently at the illuminating warmth.

Youko moved to sit beside her, but first she draped her coat around the White bouton. "Merry Christmas, Sei. And happy birthday," she whispered.

Sei grinned, and beckoned Youko forward. The Red bouton bent down, and they shared a quiet, secretive kiss. As the gratified Youko moved into a comfortable position, Sei threw the coat around them both, so they could share its warmth together.

"Some way to spend my birthday and Christmas," muttered Sei sarcastically, as Youko leaned her head against her shoulder. "And no presents for me either."

"Oh, hush," chided Rosa Chinensis en bouton. "You can settle with my bothersome nagging. We'll be back in Japan soon enough with all the others. None of this miserable weather."

The White bouton clutched her head tightly, her fingers trying to claw away the echo bouncing inside her mind.

"_Sei-sama. You'll defeat me. You'll be holding my corpse in your arms very soon. I'm waiting_."

"She's in me, Youko. And I can't do anything but keep her," whispered Sei, clutching Youko's dirty hand and pressing it to her cheek. She held it possessively, determined to burn the touch of Youko's skin and flesh into her consciousness, before Shiori took over her judgment completely. "I hate it… I hate _her_… but at the same time, do you have any idea how drawn I am to this… presence inside me?" She rubbed her sore, throbbing head. "Her voices… it's not like they're going to go away, even if you're here by my side. But in some perverse way, I love it. I've grown attached to it. I might go mad without it." She smiled sadly. "I was born with her unholy company in my head, ever since I met Eriko in kindergarten. This is my curse, the curse that every woman in the Satou family must bear. This is what I get for my ancestors' love for the Countess. And now, I'm going to slowly go insane, too. Talk about sins of my mothers, eh?"

"I understand, Sei," murmured Youko lovingly, mumbling gentle words and melodies in Sei's ear continuously. Her unbroken comfort was like a prayer, a mantra that could hopefully cleanse, purify, renew. No matter how black the darkness inside Sei grew, Youko would be by her side until the ends of the earth. And to let her know that, she put her free hand on her beloved's shoulder, caressing those Eurasian tresses, stroking her cheek tenderly and touching in wonder her closed eyelids. "Trust me," she replied softly, "No matter how far you fall, Sei, you are magical," whispered Rosa Chinensis en bouton. "Don't ever tell yourself you deserve less than everyone's encouragement. I know better."

"I wish I could believe you," replied Sei, nuzzling Youko. "But your encouragement's wasted on me. Your resolve is much stronger than mine."

As if to tell her off, Youko kissed her again, and the fatigued Sei fell silent, obeying the mood of the moment.

"No matter what you think about me, no matter what you think about the Countess, _I will always love you_."

Covered in their bear pelts, the huntresses fell asleep only when the fire had completely burnt out. But they didn't need it anymore, because the other's body was more than enough to keep them warm.

* * *

_Christmas Day_

It was the crack of dawn, and Youko and Sei had already begun their long, arduous trek up the final slope that led to the final bastion of the Countess. Once a residence of the infamous Vlad Dracul, the castle had become a winter home for the Countess after the Impaler's defeat by the Ottoman Empire. The sun's dull shine reflected light across the snowy hills, and the two soeurs trudged on, faithful that their meticulously mapped out course would take them over the ledge and finally let them reach the castle. Youko brushed at her black hair, glancing furtively at Sei's tired face and her long hair.

Neither spoke to each other for several hours straight.

Neither mentioned the tender words they had exchanged the night before. Maybe they had exchanged too many, so they needed a break from their own emotions. Perhaps it was because neither knew what had come over them. Longing? Foreboding? Or was it because of the individual, solitary fears that rolled together into one big lump of attachment and desperation? It didn't matter. All that Youko knew was that she burned with hope. She wanted Sei to return to Japan safely, with her mind and body intact. The Emperor needed her counsel and power. Lillian College needed her guidance. If she could hang on for just one more day, Youko would be able to kill Shiori and Sei would be freed from the matrilineal curse that had plagued the women of her family for centuries. And they could finally live (somewhat) of a more normal life as vampire hunters.

As long as Sei was there, Japan's future would be assured, and it would persist in glory as a great nation and empire. Most importantly, their people would survive and endure, no matter what horrors they suffered or sins they committed in the new twentieth century.

Rosa Chinensis en bouton pointed at the far distance with her wand, at the mists that obscured the vast, long slope leading to the realm of Transylvania. It would take them at least an hour to get to that high vantage point. "Look up there. We just need to get up that distant high hill, go past the forests below, and then we'll be on one of the trading roads where we can reorient our directions. And then, Shiori's castle."

"Wait."

Sei's eyes narrowed as the mist slowly moved aside, revealing a lone figure at the top of the slope. It was a most unusual sight: a small young woman on an oversized, ebony-black horse. She was beautiful and graceful; no denying it – but there was something about her that exuded plain, pure _Hell_. Perhaps it was the way her thin fingers gripped her steed's reins. Perhaps it was the tragic yet genuine smile on her countenance, which confessed thousands of years of sins yet remained coolly unrepentant. It wasn't because she was some horribly evil woman, but simply because she was a force of nature. She twisted and deformed the world as much as she cherished and nurtured it. Her long black hair draped down her shoulders from her golden crusader's helm, which was encrusted with seven jewels and crafted in the stylistic aesthetic of the Slavic kings. The rest of her green robes and thin body were encased in gold and silver armor. Her resplendent, decadent boots pressed against the black horse tightly. Even at this great distance, Sei could see the horse's eyes smoldering with necromantic light, and it snorted hungrily, neighing for blood.

"It's her. At last, we've tracked her down here," breathed Youko. "The Countess has ridden out of her fort to meet us in person."

Sei clenched her teeth, almost not caring anymore. All she wanted was to know if she loved or hated Shiori. She needed to know that what she wanted to do was right. Unfortunately, simply surrendering and becoming Shiori's slave was hardly "right." The correct choice was clear: to slay the Countess and end the blight hanging over Eurasia. "I need to kill her. I need to fulfill what my… what my mother… what grandmother did… I need to silence her voice before it drives me crazy."

Despite their distance, the soeurs could sense the archfiend gazing down at them. Her dark eyes were twinkling in welcome. "_You've come to kill me, girl of Satou_," echoed the thoughts of the mistress of undead. Her mouth did not move, but her small smile was discernible.

"_I wanted to see you_."

Sei reeled in shock at the sweet voice again, and Youko looked anxiously at the snow beneath her. A fierce rumbling could be heard, and the ground under the soeurs was beginning to shake. In the distance, Shiori's royal steed made a deep, sinister whinny. At the summons, a broad line of imperial Hussars and their mounts moved over the hill and into sight behind her, their empty eye sockets looking at the distant intruders balefully. The sky trembled as a dark shadow fell over the sun-kissed mountain. Drawing their weapons, Sei and Youko felt a growing sense of dread as the plateau began to fill, before their very eyes, with regiment after regiment of armored horsemen. Helmeted lancers were now moving into formation, joining the Hussars to make a massive, impenetrable wall of neighing, snorting stallions and shouting soldiers. The slow rumble had grown into a deafening, deep roar, with hundreds and hundreds of vampiric cavalry sneering down from the snowy heights at the huntresses. A vast host of Austrian, Hungarian, German, Polish, Czech and other undead riders were amassing behind the Countess and her royal guards' banners. They rallied under dozens of standards, on which were embroidered the civil ensign of the Austrian Emperor and Hungarian King.

"_Lords of Europe_," echoed Shiori's soundless, telepathic voice. "_Put the love of my nemesis to the test_."

The Imperial and Royal Coat of Arms was now raised high above the amassing army, its sinister double-headed eagle glaring outwards at the thundering legions of mounted vampires. Shiori's entrancing eyes shone, and the host of blood-vomiting Hussars under the tall flag raised their swords, bellowing in lusty confidence. Their triumphant boom resounded across the Carpathian Mountains, dislodging some loose snow around the peaks that surrounded the hill.

It was at least a thousand to two.

Youko looked at the grimacing Sei, her insides feeling slightly queasy. "So, shall we try holding the line?"

"No," murmured Rosa Gigantea en bouton. "You're looking at it the wrong way. They're not getting to us. _We're_ going to punch through _them_."

All it took was for the Countess was to raise a gauntleted hand, and roar grew even louder. The imperial vampires' steeds began to gallop past her and surge down the white hill in a resounding charge. The Countess's form disappeared in a tidal wave of her troops. The largest vampiric army ever assembled across Eastern Europe was bearing down on Youko and Sei, with dozens of flags of the Austro-Hungarian Empire billowing in the glacial wind as their bearers rode with the Hussars, blood pouring from their eyes and mouths. Groaning, shrieking, screaming, growling gutturally – the deafening sea continued its unstoppable charge down the hill, its numbers flooding the ridge. The undead swarmed across the snow like ants; their numbers overflowing and making the white land seem black and red.

"Someone had better be writing a glorious song about this," growled Sei, as Youko began to craft a spell. The White bouton had no horse, so she was forced to break into an uphill run, making straight for the army of mounted undead galloping towards her. Her boots pattered rapidly on the ice. The Polish division of vampiric lancers shrieked and aimed their lances at her. Undaunted, she sprinted at them head-on. The White bouton gritted her teeth as their hideous cries pierced her eardrums. This was hardly ideal: the momentum of the Polish charge would be unbreakable until Youko could punch through with her magic. And punch through Youko did – stabbing her birch wand into the ground, the chanting sorceress channeled a chain lightning spell into the ice, and the electricity surged through the frozen water, bursting through the ground and blasting into the first wave of Polish lancers. Convulsing and jerking from the sudden discharge, the electrocuted lancers dropped their weapons and went limp, and their horses fell amongst each other.

Sei seized the opening, leaping up and grabbing a confused horse's reins. The undead steed neighed angrily in protest, but Sei held on. As the horse dragged her body along the snow she pulled off the original rider's limp corpse, swinging herself up and planting her body on the saddle.

"Hyah!" she barked, smacking her inner thighs against the horse and forcing it to acknowledge her control. As the horse neighed and reared up on its hind legs, she turned around, directing her new mount to gallop towards the Hussars coming her way. Her long hair blowing behind her, Sei braced herself as she steeled the whinnying horse to withstand the lances, sabers, and pistols of the approaching cavalry. Her throat burning and her lungs dry, she tried to shout out a battlecry, but it was quickly drowned out by the undead that outnumbered the soeurs literally a thousand to two.

_What the heck am I trying this suicidal charge for?_

_How will history remember what we did here? _

_Will anyone even care to remember what happened to Youko and me_?

"_You've inherited your mother's courage and your grandmother's strength. Just watching you makes me burn with ever greater desire for death by your hand_." Sei tried to ignore Shiori's thoughts as she roared and crashed into the wall of lances that threatened to impale her. Her new horse whinnied as she cut and hacked madly through the thicket of weapons with a grim determination. A lance tip managed to graze her left rib, and more seriously, a Hussar's saber cleaved into her right side, drawing a burst of blood. She ducked her head to avoid the swing of another sword and retaliated in blind rage, beheading two Germans and stabbing into the heart of a Czech vampire. Meanwhile, an Austro-Hungarian division rumbled past Sei, making straight for Youko. The witch was prepared, and she sent a wave of fireballs that smashed into the soldiers and their horses. Another division quickly replaced the incinerated battalion, however, and Youko was forced to conjure more strenuous spells. A hail of ice crushed the heads of ten Hussars. A ring of lightning forced a charging detachment back, and she summoned the snow behind them to rise up in a massive wall and come down, smashing into their phalanx and burying them alive. With her birch wand she directed the natural elements around her frantically, like a conductor guiding a frenzied symphony. But still they came, and before long the panicking Youko was about to be run through by the advancing Polish lancers –

Sei steered her horse away from the mob of growling soldiers, and the stallion leaped into the air, making directly for the cornered witch. She shouted Youko's name, and the sorceress responded with a powerful air incantation that sent her flying into the air. Youko was hurtling down from the sky, and they reached for each other, shouting each other's names. Their hands clasped tightly, and Sei swung Youko onto her undead steed. The sorceress slammed behind the White bouton, clutching the latter's waist tightly as they landed back onto the snow. Youko whispered a quick word of thanks into Sei's ear, and the couple grinned dourly at their sticky situation.

"It's like you said yesterday. It'll be good to die with you," chuckled Sei, and the soeurs began to laugh loudly together, losing themselves in the blood-soaked frenzy of their surroundings. Their horse galloped toward the endless, innumerable mass of Hussars that were waiting for them. "Yeah. When you take a step back and think about it, we're pretty darn hardcore."

Youko pressed her cheek against Sei's warm back and hair. She allowed herself the luxury of closing her eyes briefly in the midst of their last battle.

"I could wish for nothing else."

* * *

Several exhausting hours had passed, but the struggle didn't end. Saddled tightly on their undead steed, Sei hacked and slashed furiously at the Hussars around them, while Youko threw everything she had in her arcane arsenal at the sea of screaming, groaning horsemen: chain lightning, scorching fireballs, icicles formed from the surrounding snow that impaled the Hussars in the most painful of places. But they simply kept coming.

Youko glanced up hurriedly from her frenetic wand waving. "Sei!" she cried, watching in horror as the White bouton's saber entangled itself in the blades of two Hussars. The vampires in fur hats bellowed in victory. Sei struggled in panic, but the combined strength of the Hussars was greater, and in a dreadful yank, she was thrown off her horse, her body sent hurling into the air. But Youko couldn't go to help her, because in one horrible moment, she felt her intestines pierced by a lance that ran through her spinal chord and emerged from her split abdomen.

Releasing her magic wand, she felt herself tumbling off the horse, and she could feel the turmoil around her fading into nothingness.

Sei rolled along the ground, and she would have been trampled into mush had she not leaped up and staggered aside. Even as she ran from the horses chasing her, a lance from a rider cut across her calf. Sei felt her knee buckle, and she swung angrily in the direction of her assailant, but his horse was too fast. She had lost quite a lot of blood, but that was hardly an excuse. She scrambled to where Youko's body lay, scooping her up with one arm and holding up her saber, panting and wheezing. She slung her lover over her shoulder, and Youko's head, torso and arms draped behind her back.

"You're staying. Stay! You're staying with me," shrieked Sei.

"_You're so brave, to bear her even in these circumstances. Come, Sei-sama, my love. It's time to conquer me_."

"Why are you doing this to me? Shiori!" gritted Sei, as she broke into a weary, almost hopeless run at the overwhelming numbers of Hussars. "You've got a funny way of expressing your love for a weak human like me."

"_You are wonderful, Sei-sama. There isn't much else I can say_."

"Then onward," grunted Sei helplessly and mindlessly, as the voice of the Countess continued to echo cruelly in her head. "Onward, damn it." She slashed and hacked and diced and cut, almost unaware that the hill was still flooded with cavalry. She staggered away from a lance that thrust in the direction of her face and cut off the head of a Hussar's undead horse. She stumbled away from a rider's blade and parried a slash from another. But it wasn't enough. "_Gaah_ – " She grunted as the force of three lances smashed against her rattling, shaking saber. Because her other hand was occupied with carrying Youko, she couldn't resist and was sent flying back. Her boots skidded along the ground. She gasped in pain as two swords from two charging Romanians cut across her shoulder, severing several tendons. Her grip around her saber loosened momentarily, but she forced herself to recover. She swung again –

And then a Russian spear stabbed into her stomach, and the bouton's blood sprayed from her flesh and pelt.

Sei could not longer feel her muscles, or her lower body. Her torso hurt like never before, that was certain. She could feel her broken ribs stabbing into her own organs. Her lungs had been perforated with at least one hole, and blood sprayed from the internal wound with each agonized breath she took. Bleeding from head to toe, she could only stand her ground as wave after wave of undead continued to smash themselves against her saber mercilessly.

_Merciful Maria-sama… never, in my short life, have I ever trusted you_, thought the future White Rose bleakly. Dazed, numb and mercilessly cornered, she did what any normal human being would do: she screamed in fear and desperation for Youko's life.

_If you're really up there watching this farce, save her. Come down from Heaven. Bring down the Kingdom of God with you!_

_Intercede!_

The huntress hurled herself at the surging lancers that blocked the high point of the hill, no longer caring. Groaning and crying, she continued to run up the hill, her grey, bloodshot eyes doing their damndest to focus on the Countess's waiting form in the distance. She could barely see through her sweat and tears. Her matted hair stuck to her scalp and down her forehead, soaked in her own gore and that of hundreds of vampires.

_Amen._

She didn't look behind her as even more horsemen surrounded and flanked her. With no way out, she just kept running, their swords hot on her heels. There was no way her bleeding, broken arms could go on for much longer.

_Amen._

Why did the skinny Youko feel so heavy?

_Amen._

Sei felt rather alone in the world again. And it hurt.

_Amen_!

"_Will you be cut down here, Sei-sama_?" asked the Countess inside her pounding heart. The queen of the night sat atop her steed, watching as her destined killer, inch-by-bloody-inch, forced her wrecked body towards the hilltop. "_Come. Come. Reach me and slay me. Just like your mother and your grandmother. Hold me in your triumphant arms, kiss me, and then kill me. Please, hurry and promise me you will._

"**_I must have your hand inside me_!**"

The hunter's broken eyes were weary as her long hair blew in the wicked wind. "I hate you. I love you. I'm _not_ defeated and I won't be, my beautiful vampire. Even if I give myself up to you, I won't have lost," insisted the huntress incoherently, swinging her saber wildly and cutting down five more horsemen. Teetering, she staggered towards the waiting Countess, her blurry vision stained with the grime trickling down her face. Meanwhile, her arm and shoulder burned in exhaustion from carrying the unconscious body of her beloved witch. The duo's pouring gore splashed from their wounds and mingled silently on the snow.

"I'm not supposed to lose… _ever_."

Slowly but surely, as destiny had cruelly planned, Satou Sei was losing her sanity.

* * *

The remaining Hussars and undead horsemen had moved aside, their horses clopping back. They had hardly been defeated, but the Countess had ordered it with a wave of her hand. She had commanded them to stand down because something extraordinary was happening. At last, her human nemesis, the heiress of the Satou bloodline, stood before her. Crippled and broken, the White bouton trembled before the Countess, gently setting Youko's body on the ground. She put her on her back, stroking back her hair absently. The witch was breathing shallowly, her eyes closed feverishly and her face dripping with sweat. Sei's knees burned with pain and she panted uncontrollably, stabbing her blade into the ground to steady herself as blood streamed from her trousers and soaked into the icy mush, dying it with the color of vermillion. Rivers of gore seeped across the mountainside, which was littered with hundreds among hundreds of vampires and horses.

Sei and Youko had done their very best. But in the end, it was not quite enough.

Watching the humans closely, the Countess slowly dismounted her horse, her slim boots crunching into the snow. Her dark eyes burned with the intensity of a dead star. Her lips slowly parted, and for the first time, she moved her throat to speak. No longer did she communicate through the mind.

"Sei-sama… you stand before me just like your mother did. Just like your grandmother did. Just like your great-grandmother. All of you, who tore through my armies without hesitation, despite your own terror and uncertainty."

Sei stared at the beautiful girl before her, who was slowly taking off her helm. She released it, and it fell to the snow. The Countess loosened her mantle, and her dark green cape fluttered to the blood-caked slush. As Sei watched with a macabre kind of voyeurism, Kubo Shiori continued to discard her gold and silver armor, removing her shoulderplates, her breastplate, and even her gauntlets, until her torso was completely exposed, covered only by that thin, dark-green robe.

Shiori sighed as she exposed herself to the cold winter air of Christmas Day, her eyes glimmering. "I'm sorry for tormenting you. But did you think my heart would tread lightly when it beat with yours?" she asked, her voice echoing across the mountaintop and sending her army into a frenzy. To Sei's shock, the horsemen began to retreat at Shiori's words, as if the Countess had signaled a demand for privacy. The remaining few hundred Hussars backed away, before thundering as one back to their castle stronghold. They ignored the huntresses completely, focused only on obeying their mistress. "We're about to reenact an ancient ritual of mutual hate and love. Stand amongst my innards, Sei-sama, your fist raised high as I watch you weep in victory, just like I watched your ancestors mourn when they killed me," she urged, as the hooves receded into silence. Only her words, the wind, and Sei's panting could be heard.

"But why… why don't I feel any hatred towards you for being in my head all this time?" gritted the traumatized Sei. She finally managed to keep her footing, so she released her sword. She stumbled towards Shiori, practically staggering into her arms, and the Countess welcomed her with warm arms, enfolding her would-be killer in an embrace. Astonished at the soft warmth of the undead queen, the slumped Sei clenched her bleeding hand into a fist, and swung it weakly into Shiori's side.

"There's no need to resort to punches and slaps. Pick up your sword. Cut off my head or disembowel me. You deserve a worthy victory after braving Hell itself," whispered Shiori into Sei's ear, enfolding her lovingly. "I won't resist. Remember, if you choose not to kill me… you'll be breaking the time-honored tradition of your predecessors." Shiori closed her eyes. "I watched your mother stake me, Sei-sama, and I was so proud. Don't let your love for me break you now, beautiful girl of Satou. It's my voice that drove you into a state like this. So kill me, before it gets worse."

Sei trembled, her hands around Shiori's waist, her nose and lips pressing on Shiori's slender shoulder.

"You… you've always been by my side… vampire queen… Do you really expect no mercy?"

Youko's bleeding hand twitched, the blood from her wounds staining the ice.

"Is this the choice that mum faced? That grandma faced?" cried Sei, tears pouring down her face. "Did you force them to kill you while in your embrace?"

"Yes," murmured Shiori, lowering her gaze. Her hands pressed against Sei's chest. "But this choice makes the Satou family the strongest huntresses of all."

"No," cried Sei. "It's different, completely fucking different, to your voice inside me, and when I'm actually holding you in my arms…" She stared at the vampiress wildly. "Why didn't you and my forebears make peace? Why don't _we_ make peace, Shiori? Let's stop this cycle. Let's put an end – "

The Countess smiled sadly. "Sei-sama… I'm not Kubo Shiori. She doesn't exist. She's just a figment of your ancestors' imagination… and your own. When the Satou matriarchs began their guilty fantasies about me, I dreamed this body and name into being." A single tear slipped down the archdemon's face. "I'm so sorry, Sei-sama. I'm nothing more than a self-aware idea, the conscious concept of night itself. But I adore you and I adored your ancestors. I wanted to be what they wanted, even when they killed me, weeping and sobbing in regret. I'm still in this form because we both want me to look like this. That's why our sincere love is a lie."

Sei grabbed Shiori and planted her mouth on the Countess, tenderly, submissively. "Don't be so unkind. Haven't you been malicious enough to me already?" she reproached, in between breathless kisses. "For this delusion… for this evil illusion of love, I don't mind…"

"I told you it's a lie," whispered Shiori, her tone one of warning. "You and I… for each other, we've been fooling ourselves for generations. Please, you marvelous human being. Listen to your sanity and destroy me! It's the only way you'll become the strongest huntress ever! I want this for you! I want glory for you!"

Suddenly, a loud crackling _boom_ shook the mountain.

Shiori looked up at Sei in confused amazement, a sizzling, charred hole in her chest. Sei couldn't hear her surroundings as the Countess slumped in her arms, and the White bouton screamed in panic, shrieking and howling. But Shiori pushed Sei back as her torso and green robes were blown apart by bolt after lightning bolt from Youko, who had regained consciousness and was unleashing the little strength she had to complete the mission. Having lifted herself from the ground, Youko staggered towards Sei, her voice weary but satisfied. Her trembling hand clutched her wand. Mighty thunder crackled from it. "Together, Sei. Shiori-san has lost the will to live. Now is the time."

"Stop!" screamed Sei. "Stop it now!" She scrambled back to her sword, her expression that of a feral madwoman. "I'll kill you if you don't stop!"

Youko shook her head coolly. "Are you a vampire hunter, or are you a thrall?" she asked calmly. "You deserve better than this, Rosa Gigantea en bouton. Shiori-san herself believes in you."

Youko wished she could say that it was because of jealousy. She wished she could have played the part of the villain. But every word that Shiori spoke was true. And from the secret glance that the reeling Countess shot her, the witch knew that it had to end here. Sei stuttered incoherently as Shiori ran towards her human beloved, her thin hands reaching for the huntress's arm. "Marvelous," whispered the vampire admiringly, without a hint of envy. "That Youko-sama would love you enough to destroy the illusion you and I created…"

"I hate her!" spat Sei. "I hate her!"

"No," corrected Shiori sadly. "It is she who is offering you true love."

Youko's lightning shot into the Countess's head, sending her into a fit and frying her brains. As Sei wept and shook her head in protest, the convulsing Countess gripped Sei's arm and yanked with her superhuman strength, forcing Sei's hand into her chest. Sei's eyes widened as her fingers pierced through Shiori's breast and into her inner cavities. The White bouton recoiled in revolted terror as her hand dug into Shiori's burst blood vessels, touching her lungs and heart amidst the hot flesh inside the sternum. The heart was beating fainter by the touch, and the Countess's eyes shone.

"Tear it out, my dearest."

"Never!" roared Sei, trying to pull away from this gruesome climax.

"No matter, then. You're different to your mother and grandmother. You love even more intensely," sang Shiori, closing her eyes in grateful joy. Blood poured from her smile as she pushed Sei's hand out of her torso. "Sei-sama. May we meet again and again, until the age of the soeurs comes to an end."

As Sei lurched away, her forearm drenched in the Countess's pus and blood, Shiori toppled to the ground, landing softly and her breath leaving her body. She lay in silence, her expression totally tranquil, her bleeding form spread-eagled. Quiet reigned over the winter battlefield, and only Sei's frenzied wheezing could be heard over the wind.

Youko tiredly chanted a healing spell, and it weaved itself around her body and Sei's. It would take some time for their many severe wounds to close up. She limped to the hunched Sei and gently took her shoulder, but the White bouton wrenched herself away, raging and swearing incoherently. She herself didn't know why she was spitting so much venom at the Red bouton. The absence of Shiori's voice was unbearable, for some reason. "Countess!" howled the huntress, whirling around in all directions. Her distressed voice traveled across the mountaintops. "I can't hear you anymore! Why aren't you speaking inside me? _Countess_!" Her shoulders heaved uncontrollably.

"I killed you. _We_ killed you."

"We'll seal her up in a protected shrine," whispered Youko, trying to grab Sei's hand and ignore her lunacy. "We must inter her where no one would think of looking. Westminster Abbey, perhaps. This is the only way…"

But the insane Sei no longer looked Youko in the eye. She turned her back on her, fuming and refusing to speak.

"Sei… no," moaned Rosa Chinensis en bouton in despair. "No, no. I didn't mean to earn your ire like this."

Amidst Sei's reproachful silence, her grey irises burned with an unhinged light that was more hateful that hate itself.

One thing was certain. They would never cuddle as tenderly and respectfully as they had done in that small cave on Christmas Eve.

And slowly, over two painful years, Youko's heart and hope began to waste away.

* * *

**So ended the Battle of the Carpathian Mountains and Sei and Youko's sisterhood. Two years later, Shiori would be freed, and London would remember…**

**Next chapter: The current age, 1902. The Lillian guilds versus Team Sei. Sometimes, loving someone means kicking her arse. **


	7. The Fall of the Soeurs

**Chapter 7**

**The Fall of the Soeurs**

* * *

Welcome back to Rose and Fang, a fanfic about the Marimite girls set in the years 1902 and 1903. As I mentioned last chapter, sorry for the delay in this one. Please R&R but most importantly enjoy! (n_n)

Several months after the Christmas of 1902, Japan's prodigy Admiral betrayed her alma mater and her generation of Roses, gravely wounding the diplomat Eriko and capturing the ace sorceress Youko. Setting into motion a devastating plot to destroy the Japanese and British Empires, Sei broke into Westminster Abbey, where she had interred the body of the Countess, mistress of all vampires. The balance of power has irrevocably shifted against the Roses' guilds. The tender, devoted, shy couple of Yumi and Sachiko must now face the insane, ancient love between the Satou family and Shiori. Can affection like Yumi and Sachiko's blossom in the new twentieth century? Or will Sei ensure that only an illusory, warped attachment to the Countess's dream of Shiori ever survive as eternal love?

"_I know Shiori doesn't exist, Countess. I know this fact as certainly as I love her. So just keep dreaming, queen of the night. Dream this surreal, world-destroying love and I'll dream it with you."_

– Satou Sei

* * *

Clad in her jet-black ninja uniform, Noriko's mind churned over the events of the last two weeks as she stood at attention inside the government building, waiting outside Lansdowne's reception. Her mistress and grande soeur, Shimako-san, was in a word, devastated. Not in tears, but certainly distraught and bewildered by Sei-sama's treachery. Only Noriko had been allowed to see the full face of Shimako's disbelief. Only she had borne witness to the real grief that consumed Rosa Gigantea, and while she was proud of that, she honestly hated Sei for doing this to the White Rose.

_She loves you_! thought Noriko angrily. She wasn't one to be bound by loyalty to institutions like the Yamayurikai guilds, but even she felt that something sacrosanct had been violated, as if a vital contract had been conned. _Shimako-san served you with unmatched loyalty! And this is what you do to her? To Eriko-sama? To all of us_?

How did it come to this? And Noriko thought _she_ was the weird one as a general loner – yet it was Sei who had forsaken them.

The door creaked open, and Noriko quickly snapped to salute, putting back on her demonic _hannya_ mask. The Japanese foreign minister's head emerged, and Viscount Hayashi began to speak in a hushed but dull voice. "Thank you so much for watching over us these past few days, Noriko-chan." His eyes were bloodshot from night after night of late diplomatic meetings with British heads of state. "Sei-kun's vampiric assassins are everywhere. To have you protect the British government offices has been a godsend. Perhaps the King will be looking to commend you once this is all over."

Personally, Noriko couldn't care less what the British King thought of her. But she did care about following Shimako's orders, and if the White Rose wanted her to protect the lives of these old men, then she would do so with every ounce of her strength. "I trust Hayashi-sama is getting enough rest," she said politely, addressing the minister in the third person.

"Yes," said Hayashi, completely unpersuasively. "You may return to Shimako-chan now, ninja. Thank you for your vigilant protection. We've mobilized the allied imperial and royal armies to counter Sei's control over our nation's navy. Who knows what further undead monstrosities she plans to unleash against us."

Not entirely convinced, Noriko nodded hesitantly but nevertheless bent her legs slightly, and in a single blink, disappeared from the minister's sight.

* * *

When he was comfortable and sure that Noriko was gone (he stood and waited for several minutes), Hayashi closed the door behind him and slumped down on one of the chairs facing a standing Lord Lansdowne. Their suits were suffocating in this stuffy brown room, and the current toxic mood was not making it better.

"Hardly an ideal situation, old chum," murmured the British foreign minister, rubbing the ridge of his long nose as he stared unseeingly at the tall bookshelves lining the walls of his reception. "They were such pleasant ladies, too. But the entire Japanese navy is vampirized and under a traitor's control, along with all the undead in Europe dancing to her tune… this is surely the most terrifying military situation we could have dared to imagine."

"Westminster Abbey has been defiled, sullied, despoiled," said Hayashi, shaking his head and wiping his grimy forehead with his handkerchief. "That honourable place has now become the throne of Sei-kun's ally, the Countess."

"The mistress of all undead-kind, in league with the most powerful soeur of your nation's huntress guilds… of course we can't let this last." The British official turned to Hayashi. "I suppose you won't be surprised if I tell you that His Majesty has given orders to implement the Rose Solution." Lansdowne looked grim and sincerely regretful. "His Majesty's aides personally drew up the contingency plan… in the event your girls became a liability or embarrassment. Frankly, I never believed it would be needed. I know this wasn't their fault, only Satou Sei's. But this has gone beyond a mere liability. The Admiral is a threat to not only your military and people, but ours as well. She has forced our government to denounce everything she is associated with, including her friends.

"I hope you understand, Tadasu. The soeurs can no longer be relied on to protect London. One of their own has desecrated Westminster, for God's sake. Our government can't function with the Countess of the vampires next door to them. London has been taken hostage by Sei. This is far more than some political scandal. It concerns the survival of His Majesty's realm."

"Of course I understand. My superiors weren't blind to the power of the soeurs either," growled Hayashi. "I will concede, however, that we were blind to just how ingenious Sei-kun was in hiding her preparations for such an attack on Japanese and British interests."

He adjusted his tight collar. "Look, Henry. I'll petition His Imperial Majesty to close down Tokyo Lillian College. I've written a letter advising him to publicly condemn the guilds, and I'll also shut down their headquarters in our country's capital. I suspect _Tennou Heika_ was already preparing for alternative measures the moment I sent him news of Sei-kun's attack. We must carry through with all the routine procedures. It breaks my heart, but closing down Lillian College will involve firing its teachers and staff. The students will be expelled and need to find another school."

"That's not enough. You'd be simply indulging in a public relations campaign if you leave it at that. We must cut off everything to do with Lillian College from our Anglo-Japanese Alliance. We cannot allow our cooperation to be publicized or even recorded. That is how vampire hunting has been hidden from the public for centuries. And that is why, Tadasu, you'll need to find some way to erase all of Lillian's transactions with our governments," insisted Lansdowne.

Hayashi nodded. "The school's archives. I'll sign an executive government order to burn all their registers and documentations."

"As decided in the Rose Solution, His Majesty will revoke the permits of the soeurs to work and hunt in London," said Lansdowne. "I'll have the Bank of England cut off all their funding. Whatever happens to the girls won't be on our hands. Because if anyone knows our contract with Lillian let Sei bring about this calamity in our city…"

Hayashi smiled darkly. "You sound a bit like Pontius Pilate."

"Or Cain," admitted Lansdowne. "If I'm not my brother's keeper, I'm certainly not my sister's."

"And I'll issue an arrest warrant for Sei-kun on behalf of our government, on accounts of high treason against His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Japan," said Hayashi. "Her punishment will be nothing less than execution, and if she refuses to surrender to us, I won't need her dead or alive. I'll just want her body."

"Then this is settled. The Rose Solution is to be initiated today. We hereby disown the soeurs, their existence, and their very history."

Lansdowne slowly walked over to the window, staring down at the dirty streets filled with innocent British folk unaware of the undead storm approaching. "Thanks to this fiasco, the Lillian guilds have no place in London. And at the risk of sounding disrespectful, Tadasu, I suggest that they have no place in your country either."

Hayashi nodded. "I'm sorry, Youko-chan. Sachiko-chan. Eriko-chan. But Sei-kun's high treason has forced me into this. Perhaps this was what she planned for us to do all along. Even Henry and I… unwittingly became her pawns," he muttered to himself.

The Japanese minister closed his eyes, genuinely remorseful for what he was about to do.

"From now on, you're on your own."

And as she listened with horror just below the balcony outside Lansdowne's office, the hidden Noriko put a trembling hand to her racing heart as her insides felt queasy.

_These spineless old men are going to cut us off. Just to save themselves from Sei-san._

_I must report to Shimako-san and everyone else_!

* * *

_A private ward in the Royal London Hospital_

Yumi never felt more bizarre in her life. Here she was, a vampire of the night, struggling grimly to heal a dying human with her necromancy. But this was hardly the quirk of fate she had in mind: the real irony lay in the fact that the power of God, infused in Sei's thorns, was the very power preventing Eriko's recovery. The holy blessing of the bullets in the ex-Yellow Rose was resisting Yumi's vampiric healing. With every portion of flesh and skin tissue that closed up, another part of Eriko's savaged torso exploded in a haze of gore. "Remove the bullets," gasped Eriko in agony, tears rolling down her face. Hair mussed and matted and the upper half of her body exposed, her hands clutched the white, bile and bloodstained bedsheets. "I don't care if I bleed to death. You'll never get anywhere like this. At least remove these abominations that Sei has put in me."

"Eriko-sama," whispered Yumi, visibly sweating as the ethereal, black ribbons from her hand failed to close up the bullet wounds yet again. "If you insist… then I'll trust your judgment."

"Rei!" barked Eriko, her eyes shining. Rosa Foetida kneeled by Eriko's bedside, wiping away her clammy sweat with a wet towel. "Yumi's hard at work. Now it's your turn. Pull these damned bullets out of me!" The trembling Yellow Rose didn't dare disobey, but the repeated geysers of blood that exploded from Eriko's exposed sternum and organs terrified even the half-vampire guild leader. Eriko screamed again and again as Yoshino and Yumi held her down, and the latter concentrated harder, directing the necromancy to regenerate the wounds the proliferated all over the diplomat's body even as Rei pursed her lips and dug her claws into the flesh, grasping the gnarled, chipped bullet of Jesus Christ and wrenching it out of her grande soeur's trembling body.

Yoshino hurriedly stuffed a white cloth into Eriko's mouth so that the bucking senior wouldn't sink her own teeth through her tongue and die of blood loss. Eriko moaned through the gag, but for now she was safe. Still, the sight was heartbreaking.

Yumi bit her lip as the necromantic magic finally broke through. Pulling out the bullets had made all the difference, although Eriko was all the weaker for it. Eriko closed her eyes, panting quietly as Rei and Yoshino embraced her in silence, trembling in self-reproach for being unable to stop Sei. Surely such self-reproach was unjustified. Only Youko, and perhaps Shimako, would have been able to last against Sei's power, and even then they were more shocked than anyone by the Eriko's shooting and Shizuka's escape at St. Pancras Parish Church.

"Yumi. Don't tire yourself out to the point of exhaustion." The expression on Rosa Chinensis was one of quiet wrath. She stood beside Yumi, her arms folded. "Forest of Thorns is the greatest anti-vampire weapon in the history of Lillian College. It is only one pistol – one revolver! – But it was built by Sei herself. For her ammunition Noriko-chan stole the Crown of Christ from the Vatican, and its thorns were duplicated through magical means by my onee-sama. Youko-sama is surely regretting the faith we placed in the Admiral." Sachiko clenched her jaw. If only Youko was here. She almost regretted not pursuing Sei on her own when she captured the former Red Rose. Her hands itched to save her grande soeur, and it was galling to be mindful of the yawning gulf between her own capabilities and those of Youko and Sei. "Sei-sama used us all, manipulated our trust and admiration, to craft her weapon of mass destruction. And now that traitor has that weapon in her hands."

"That's why Forest of Thorns was so effective against us half-vampires," snarled Yoshino, her hand stroking Eriko's shaking arm frantically, before clutching at her fingers, as if to reassure her through touch. "Rei-chan and I couldn't do a thing against those vines, but we're happy to forfeit our lives to avenge even one fraction of the pain Sei-sama has inflicted on Eriko-sama."

"You must be careful, Yumi," said Sachiko in concern. You're a full-blooded vampire, and especially vulnerable to Sei's bullets."

Yumi nodded, but her expression was defiant. "If you think that's going to put me off from stopping her, you're mistaken, onee-sama."

"Everyone!" came Noriko's sudden, urgent voice. The ninja had winked into sight before the end of Eriko's grimy bed, and she looked extremely agitated as she kneeled before the soeurs. "I have very bad news. I already gave my report to Shimako-san. As of now, she and I are preparing for battle."

"The Gigantea guild… you two are preparing so soon? And what could be worse than Sei's treason?" gasped Eriko, as Yumi's black ribbons kissed and licked at her flesh. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, it was beginning to close up, and the bones were also regenerating its white matter.

"Hayashi-sama wants to close down Lillian College!" cried Noriko. "He's planning to erase its records, expel all its students and fire its teachers. The British King is also revoking his permission for us to stay in England… but we'll have nowhere to go if Lillian is closed, and no one to listen if all the archives about our school are burned…!"

It took several seconds for the dreadful, demoralizing news to sink in. "Why?" cried Rei, the pitch in her usually boyish voice rising. "Why are they doing this to us?"

"Because of Sei?" asked Sachiko in pure outrage. Her eyes glinted indignantly. "What did the rest of us do to deserve this blatant attempt to silence us? And that is why you should never trust even the best of men."

"Condemned by association," whispered Eriko. "Typical of our political public relations machine. I need… I need to get in contact with Hayashi-sama." Lillian's ambassador panted, her eyes shining in determination. "He and his friends… Lord Lansdowne… they're going to betray us too. As your diplomat, as Lillian's ambassador, I need to at least try and convince them this will only hurt Japan and endanger our nation';s safety."

"We can't stop them if they've made up their minds," snapped Yoshino. "Eriko-sama, you're in no shape to debate with them about their decision."

Eriko crossed an arm over her face, her composure breaking for the first time since Sei had almost killed her. Even the strongest of women, who were far greater than men wanted to appreciate, weren't goddesses. "Yamanobe-sensei." The diplomat's voice grew shrill as Rei tenderly dabbed at her flowing tears, unable to stop her own quiet crying. "_Yamanobe-sensei_! I didn't leave him at Yokohama's docks just to end up like this. I didn't enter politics to lie around on a blasted hospital bed. I won't let Hayashi-sama off. Or Lansdowne! How dare they turn their backs on us like this! When we've done nothing but protect the people of Japan and Britain from vampires!" she vented, with a hysterical logic that only she was capable of.

Suddenly, a cry from a police officer rang through the ward. Panicked screams from doctors, nurses and patients could be heard outside the Royal London Hospital. Sachiko and Rei whipped around, their eyes widening. "What now?" cried Yoshino, and Eriko's grip tightened around her hand.

"Undead, and I know who ordered such an attack. Only one person knows how vulnerable we are," snarled Yumi, her eyes narrowing and glowing a furious red light. "Rosa Foetida, Yoshino-san. I think Eriko-sama needs your care more than me. I'm going with onee-sama to stop Sei-sama's cowardly assault on the hospital!"

* * *

About fifty vampire soldiers, garbed in the uniform of the British Royal Army, had assembled outside the Royal London Hospital. Standing at attention with their bayonets, they looked up in expectation. They bared their fangs as Yumi hurtled from the sky, landing in a thundering crouch before the stone steps. Her pigtails loosened and undone, her brunette hair spilled out behind her grim expression. "Sei-sama!" she cried, as Sachiko burst out the main door of the hospital and stood beside her. "Show yourself!" she shouted, her green dress billowing around her. The troops simply raised their rifles and pointed them at her.

An unfamiliar voice answered the vampire. "Hello, Yumi-san. Unfortunately, Sei's busy today and won't be seeing you. She asked me to pass her regards to you, however." The smartly dressed girl emerging from the vampire phalanx adjusted her black-rimmed glasses. She had the look of a scholar. "My name is Katou Kei. Like Sei, I'm just a human being, and I serve as her advisor and counsellor." She looked at Sachiko, who drew her glimmering sword from her cane's sheath. "With Youko-san captured and Eriko-san incapacitated, Sei has set her sights on the younger generation of Lillian hunters."

"You want to finish off Eriko-sama," snarled Yumi. "But no army will punch through onee-sama and I."

Kei pointed at the Chinensis guild's soeurs. "Attack!" she commanded loudly, her voice strong and resolute.

_Katou Kei… Satou Sei… Katou Kei? What's with that name, anyway_? wondered the surprised Yumi to herself. Was the similarity just some freakish coincidence? But there wasn't any time to mull over the possibilities, for the Royal Army's vampires were roaring and lunging for Sachiko. They fired their rifles, deadly bullets riddling the stone steps and arches, and the hissing Yumi leaped up onto the hospital's façade, scurrying on all fours along it and up to the clock. She jumped down again, her body smashing into the vampires' formation and sending it into pandemonium. Unfazed by the bedlam, Rosa Chinensis thrust her hand into a strap on her belt, whipping out what looked like a small bomb.

"My arsenal of anti-undead weapons isn't limited to Flower Stalk and Vermillion," noted Sachiko proudly. "I'll need all the vampire-killing technology I have to defeat Sei-sama." Her Prussian blue tailcoat blowing in the wind, she hurled the bomb into the crowd of soldiers, and the explosion of holy smoke instantly sent several of the vampires to their knees, clutching their disintegrating throats. Sachiko hurled herself against the bayonets, tearing herself through the vampire battalion. Katou Kei, looking rather surprised, began to back off, and the English vampires surged forward, only to be met by Yumi's sharp claws. She struggled against five bayonets, two of them piercing into her stomach. But the wounds quickly closed up, and she charged, slashing her fingers across a British vampire's face and clawing out his eyeballs. He screamed and dropped his rifle, and Yumi grabbed it and shoved its bayonet's tip into another undead's groin. Ignoring the generous splurge of blood and tissue from the collapsing infantryman, Yumi thrust her hand through the heart of an unprepared foe and tore it out of his trembling body, shoving the still-pulsing, pumping organ into its choking owner's mouth.

"Bite. Go on, bite that which you lust after so!" bayed the blood-inebriated Yumi, her fangs glinting sadistically as Sachiko's sword entered the soldier's ear and came out the other. Blood gushed from the punctured head as the dead vampire's compatriots fired their deafening rifles at Sachiko. By all rights she should have been shot, but Yumi quickly dissolved into mist and reformed in front of her grande soeur, swallowing the bullets within her wispy, ineffable darkness. The infantrymen fired again in panic, but the bullets simply disappeared into the dark cloud, and out from that cloud sprinted Sachiko, her swinging sword cleaving left and right, her boots trampling the ground as she severed head after head and eviscerated her way through the vampires. She parried a stab from a bayonet and slashed upwards, cutting off her attacker's arm. She then reached into her belt again, and a chain whipped out from her coat, its attached bombs exploding into smoke and disintegrating the faces of the vampiric force.

"_Maria-sama's Tears_!" cried Sachiko, finishing off the winnowing battalion's members with a sweeping swing of Flower Stalk. Seven silent heads flew into the air, their mouths open in shock. Weeping and choking desperately, dozens amongst dozens of shocked undead crumpled to the ground, their oesophagi and facial muscles disintegrating into pallid ashes.

Sachiko quietly sheathed her sword. "No vampire will be crossing those steps up into the wards, Kei-san," she said. "No one will be disturbing Eriko-sama's rest. And even if you did break through us, Rei would tear you and your lackeys apart."

Kei's usually relaxed eyes looked concerned. The Chinensis guild's style was… unusually pitiless today. Surely Sei had underestimated Yumi's brutality here. She didn't expect them to fight so… eagerly. Perhaps they had been pushed too far with Sei's assaults? Perhaps Sei had forced them to the brink and had made the crucial mistake of cornering them to the effect that they no longer cared for self-preservation?

Yumi's form suddenly burst from the hill of vampire corpses, and Kei let out a quiet groan of dread as she felt herself winded by Yumi's knee in her stomach. Almost losing her lunch, she fell to the ground, rolling and sprawling from the force of the vampire's strike. Before she could scramble up and flee, Yumi landed on her, straddling her and pinning her down on the cobblestone. "Sei-sama should know that if you press a surrounded animal too far, she'll counterattack with lethal strength!" growled Yumi, pressing down on Kei's prone body. "No least a vampire."

Katou Kei didn't look resentful or frightened in the least. "You're right. Everything Sei's done has probably taken a toll on you. And it looks like she's abandoned me to you," she said, shrugging. "Dear me. That's what you get for being a mere sacrificial pawn to the Admiral's plans."

"How can you say that?" cried Yumi. "You'd just let her use you?"

Kei began to chuckle, catching the vampire off-guard. "Did you know that it was only recently that she actually bothered to learn my name? We were classmates at Lillian too. She once mistook my name for hers at a student assembly once."

"Yet you'd still serve Sei-sama and her illusions," gritted Yumi. "When her actions will devastate so much of London?"

Kei smiled as Sachiko walked over to shackle her in handcuffs. She didn't seem to mind being manacled: was she being sincere about her being a sacrifice for Sei? "Sei's just that kind of girl, I guess. It's difficult to say no to her. Even you – look at you, good vampire. You've been raging about Sei ever since you pinned me down, and I haven't seen a single glimmer of hate for her in your eyes."

Yumi lowered her head, unable to deny the truth in Kei's words. She was completely right. Yes, she was angry. Yes, she was indignant, hurt and burning with resentment. And she intended to protect London with every ounce of her undead being, even if it meant killing Shizuka or Sei.

But she never dreamed, and would never dream, of hating the Admiral. It was quite the opposite, in fact.

"Sei-sama… why are you doing this to us?"

* * *

It was late evening, and the stygian sky was empty of stars. Katou Kei had been arrested and incarcerated by the soeurs. Scotland Yard would decide what to do with her, and the Royal Army would handle the vampires that had infiltrated its ranks. For a while Sachiko had simply stood outside the door to her home in London, staring at its dark green paint, the white around it, and the overgrown leaves and vines that hung innocently over the balcony of the larger unit above hers. Yumi waited patiently beside her, wondering what could be crossing her grande soeur's mind. In the past, she needed to wait before Rosa Chinensis chose to reveal her thoughts, but now she was confident enough to take the lead, to return Sachiko's care and concern. "Onee-sama," invited the vampire quietly, "We've lived here for quite some time, haven't we?"

"Perhaps I never appreciated the privilege of receiving a stipend from the Japanese and British governments. I never thought my time here at Lilyston Square would be in peril," replied the reminiscing Rosa Chinensis. "I always saw this unit as cramped, a bit stuffy, and musty. But it suddenly became a warm hearth the night I carried your soaked body over that threshold. It was when I was wiping your wet body dry on our bed, Yumi, that I realized that London wasn't as bad as I thought. For everything that is wrong and unjust about this country, here we're permitted to experience, to our very core, the deepest emotions of love, anger, grief, and longing. They say it has been like this since Shakespeare's time. I could experience these rich depths because of you, Yumi, and that's why I'm terrified of what Hayashi-sama and Lansdowne are doing to us."

She turned to the vampire, who stared up at her helplessly.

"I don't want to be evicted," whispered Sachiko, her voice trembling. Her dark eyes brimmed with unshed tears, with vulnerability locked away for far too long. "I don't care about the Chinensis guild if you aren't part of it. I want to be able to take care of you here, in this warm house. I want to feed you with myself. I want to nourish you, darling vampire, and sleep by your side. I can't imagine a night spent without you. I worry about losing this home because I won't be worthy to look after you."

"Why do you blame yourself over nothing? And besides, you've already forgotten that I used to live out on the streets. Yet, surely Ogasawara Sachiko-sama deserves nothing less than a warm, large bed," protested Yumi, resting the side of her head on her mistress's chest. She closed her eyes, appreciating the warmth of the human being. "There's no one to blame. No one to hate. How can you hate Sei-sama, onee-sama? I don't believe you can hate her. Not even Shimako-san or Eriko-sama can bring themselves to hate someone driven mad by their own destiny." Yumi smiled. "As a servant of onee-sama, I _will_ stop her madness. It's because I love Sei-sama that I will stop her grave sins. But don't hate her, onee-sama. She's only human."

"I sometimes wonder if human beings are as marvellous as they claim to be. You seem better than so many of us. No, you tower above most of us." Sachiko shook her head in wonder. "Yumi. I'm sorry you had to see… all this. I know you are strong, and I'm so very proud of you. But I must admit, I sometimes wish you had lived that homely sheltered life, in our bedroom and our drawing room, welcoming me home every night. None of this fighting alongside us. I don't want you to be the centre of attention for everyone."

"That's awful, onee-sama," giggled Yumi. She pulled Sachiko towards their front door, her plaid shoes pressing lightly on the stone. "I want everything you have. I don't just want your blood and touch. I want your experiences. I want your very life. I want to immerse myself in it. I wish to protect everything about you. That's what a petite soeur does!"

"Then don't regret it, you greedy thing," whispered the Red Rose, allowing herself to be pulled along as Yumi fumbled for the keys. "Let me feed you with all I have."

Shelter. Comfort. Healing. Salvation. Human and vampire found these luxuries of life in each other, in the small apartment they had shared together. Of course, the future had already been uncertain ever since Sachiko discovered Yumi in that dark, wet alleyway. That night, it was too late to save an innocent girl from being turned into an infernal beast. But it was only love, not a hammer and stake, that could whisk Yumi's pain away. Perhaps for tonight and for many more nights, this affectionate continuity would be enough.

But it might not be enough when Yumi bared her fangs at their nemesis, Satou Sei.

It wouldn't be enough when the world of the Yamayurikai was consumed in a Rose Ragnarok.

* * *

_From the colonial journals of Admiral Satou Sei_

_4__th__ of April, 1903: To Please the Countess_

Dear Diary,

Kei's been plucked off already, apprehended by Yumi-chan and Sachiko. I'm not surprised. Yumi-chan was always going to be one of those girls who made a difference, a gamemaker and gamebreaker. She's such a lovely girl. Yumi-chan has grown so strong that I've had to counter her power as Lillian's vampire with Shizuka's own. Shizuka's been drumming up support for our campaign, with a good degree of success. It's difficult for Britain's aristocratic buffoons to resist the promise of eternal life. What's better than a hereditary title? Keeping it forever. But that's not enough. I've been giving her my blood every night while we're in bed. She can't catch up to Yumi-chan because I don't love her like Sachiko loves her petite soeur. But in short time, at least with my freely given blood, Shizuka will have a good fighting chance. She herself knows that she will most likely die, that she's just a sacrifice I'm making to the Countess – one of the many I intend to offer.

Fine, I'm a shithead. Especially for shooting _dekochin_ in the chest. Shimako must feel like crap right now. But as far as my own humble person is concerned, I'm insane anyway.

But do you have any idea how hard it was to do what I did? In two years I earned my rank of Admiral to secure Japan's naval routes. Vampires can't fly over water, see, and if they are to become a viable force that can match Europe's ships we can't overlook the importance of consolidating control of the routes around China, Java and the Pacific and Atlantic. That's just the military strategist in me speaking. What was even harder was to actually resign myself to what I needed to do, which was to free Shiori from Westminster. It was painful to betray the girls the way I did. By now, those two buffoons Hayashi and Lansdowne would have played right into my game by shutting down Lillian and the Yamayurikai. It was almost too easy – you don't even need to tell them and they dance to your tactics like puppets.

The girls probably hate me with a broken heart and I don't blame them.

I went to Queen's College yesterday. I visited the usual suspects – Madeleine, who taught me all kinds of naughty words in English last year (I'm sorry, but "cunnilingus" just sounds too funny), aristocratic Caroline, who was always over-the-top in her boasts about her antics in bed with me, and the charming Margaret, that countryside landlord's daughter from Hertfordshire. They brought me to their dorms to make love to me. The rooms were largely unchanged, but I was more surprised by how incredible my Brit kittens were. I wondered if they'd been practicing since my last visit. I felt a bit sentimental about it all, and I think I was flashbacking to my first exchange trip to London while they were taking my naked body to Maria-sama. I'll probably never see this school again, not with the soeurs preparing their counterattack. Sachiko and Rei don't fully appreciate their own skill at leadership, although they're Roses now. Yoshino-chan is nuts, but a good and loyal girl. Shimako has her work cut out for her, but I'm sure everything I've taught her will serve her well when the time comes to kill me. She's got Noriko, too.

There were some among the Queen's seniors who Shizuka had already turned into undead. Quite a few girls promised to fight for me, and they all wanted to kill Yumi-chan. Jealousy much? I fingered every one of them to unconscious bliss so they'd shut up about it.

I couldn't stand hearing them prattling on about killing the sweetest vampire I've ever known.

* * *

_15__th__ of April, 1903: Stormy Clouds  
_

Dear Diary,

So I went from my days of whoring about with the girls at Queens all the way back to the coffin-side of the Countess herself. Up to now I had accompanied Shiori in the Chapel of Westminster Abbey, admiring her, attending to her, preparing her for the last day of the soeurs, when the fires of Hell would lick the sky like a sadistic lover does to her object of seduction. I don't think our attachment to each other has faded since I dug my hand into her heart. But of course – she sees me, while I see Shiori. Indeed, I see _only_ Shiori, this illusion, this craving born from the once healthy hate that burns between mortal enemies.

It should have burned as hate. If only it continued to burn as hate. It should never have transformed into a fire of love. But that is the cursed way of Satou.

The clouds were grey and dark outside, so the stained-glass windows didn't really shine as nicely as they should have. Perhaps for my own sake, I had Shizuka take Youko away whenever Shiori and I spent private time together. I think I know why: I didn't want Youko to watch me fall so far.

The Countess and I, after all, enjoyed desecrating the abbey with our licentious, degenerate affair. As always, Shiori was dressed in her tantalizingly gossamer green-silver robe – that sumptuous, one-piece garment that exposed her legs and arms, yet didn't betray her modesty. She would remove it only for me, but I was happy to be stark naked in the church if that was what she wanted. I didn't really give a damn about defiling my officer's uniform. It was just another weekday. Another day of debauched, sacrilegious lust committed in plain sight of Maria-sama. Yes, like every single burning day, we writhed on Westminster's dais, kissing and sighing and stroking each other. My hands caressed her face as the slender back of the undead empress slid down the altar, running her back along the stone and coming to a stop between my legs, her breath hot along my thighs, along my skin. Without so much as a word, or a sigh, or even a bit of spittle, the Countess took me in her mouth and continued titillating my senses with her tongue. Good God, it felt so good. For me, a mortal, to be licked and sucked by an arch-vampiress: there's something to be said about Her Excellency, this beautiful queen of undead, who would dampen me so quickly, arouse us both, reduce us to trembling slaves in each other's arms. My hands pressed against the back of her head, clutching and tearing at her raven hair, worshipping her as her lips worshipped me. And as she devoured my human sexual organs, I knew that she was reliving the passion of many generations – her seduction of my mother, her lovemaking with my grandmother, her angry, confused kisses with my distant ancestors as they fought each other with swords and claws and fangs.

But never, ever did she turn any woman in my family into vampires. Such was her respect for our women, even though we remained mortal foes.

Me, I've had enough. My forebears trod a fine line between Shiori and reality. For me though, it's either her falsehood or the world's truth.

I've chosen her falsehood.

Shiori's eyes were closed lightly, and it was good to know she enjoyed me. I begged her to open them. I wanted her to watch me – yes, watch me, this human girl, who can make the supreme vampire come in convulsing, jerking ecstasy. My legs weak, I staggered off the shrine, kneeling before her and dragging down her robe as I did so. She bade me behold her naked glory even as I suckled at those queenly, pert nipples on her small, adorable breasts. I took her vulva in my soaked hands, and it swelled, engorged, and nourished itself on my lips. I couldn't help feeling gratified by her sighs and choked gasps of drunken delight. It was the least I could do, having killed her in Transylvania. "I know Shiori doesn't exist, Countess. I know it as certainly as I love her. So just keep dreaming, queen of the night. Dream this surreal, world-destroying love and I'll dream it with you," I whispered, breaking the heavy silence between us, punctuating our decadent, blissfully selfish moans with gentle words of hellish lunacy. The vampire's fingers stroked gently at my cheeks, and I knew we were doomed no matter how we tried to escape from each other.

"You're a cruel human, Sei-sama," declared the archdemon, wiping away at her lips with a hand. Her bare, thin legs draped around me, resting behind my back and pressing their heels into my sides. We gazed lovingly at each other. "You take your compatriots, your friends, your lovers, your illusions of Shiori – and me, the Countess Most High – you take them all and drag them down into the Forest of Thorns you've created. You prick everyone's hearts." Shiori's eyes shone. "And I, who have died so many deaths by your family's hands, can only obey you."

"Don't you dare force me to kill you again," I gulped, in between burying my face in her wet pubic hair and looking up at her to admire her scrunched up eyes, her longing expression, her flushed lips and cheeks. I swallowed triumphantly. "I'm here because I'd rather kill human beings than the dream of Shiori."

"Then I would like Youko-sama to kill me," sighed Shiori, leaning back and closing her eyes. Her hands pressed against the edge of the altar as I quickened my exhausted pace, and her body bucked in tandem with my rising intensity. "You do realize, Sei, that what I told you two years ago still stands… that it is Youko who is offering you true love. She has something that I don't have: _truth_. Yet you now refuse it. You've chosen to embrace a lie with me. Dear Maria-sama, the memories of the centuries are all returning. I warned you again and again, yet here you are."

The Countess tittered, running her knuckles along my forehead and blonde bangs. "You are truly your mother's daughter."

_God's wounds, I'm drunk_, I remember thinking, as my naked body pressed against Shiori's bare back, running my lips and tongue and chin, nay, my face, along her shoulders. We're both fucking drunk, she with her hands pressed on the altar as I ravish her from behind, as I entangle my face in her hair and guide her hips with my sweaty hands, as we scream and cry and sing as one. We embrace, spent but already whispering at each other for more lies, more depravity, more damnation. Was there ever a darker realm of punishment than my Forest of Thorns? Youko was right from the start, and I knew it long ago, when the Countess told me I was looking for true love with the wrong person. I need Youko – far more than she will ever need me. That's why if I lose this war to Yumi-chan and Japan and Britain's armies, it'll mean I'm going to die. It's not a bad way to go out, if I say so myself. If the English give me one final wish as I stand blindfolded before the firing squad, I'd happily get down on my knees and ask for the soeurs to not be forgotten. Please, please don't let our Emperor erase Lillian from history. If the next century is a world without the soeurs, then at least let them be remembered.

What can I say? Their annihilation will be my fault. All for this delusion, this hateful, adoring illusion from the immortal Countess of night.

* * *

_A ruthless strategist, Sei already drove the soeurs into a deadly corner by capturing Youko, the only hunter powerful enough to match her. She fed Shizuka her blood, making Rosa Canina a match for the Lillian guilds' trump card, Yumi. Her treason also forced the Japanese and British Empires to initiate the Rose Solution. Viscount Hayashi has publicly condemned and shut down Tokyo Lillian College. Lord Lansdowne has ordered all British support and funding to be cut off from the soeurs in London. The guilds are stripped of their options at every turn as Sei's wicked plan enters its last stage. _

_Her brutal plot to annihilate the Yamayurikai is reaching its fulfilment._

_History is about to abandon the soeurs._

**Next chapter: _Rose Ragnarok_, a three-chapter conclusion to Rose and Fang. Disowned by their own Emperor and discarded by the British King, the remaining soeurs wage a desperate war on English streets, a final gamble against Sei's siege of London. Yumi and Sachiko's greatest trial and heartbreak lie ahead. **

**The end of their life at Number 9, Lilyston Square draws close!**


	8. Rose Ragnarök

**Chapter 8**

**Rose ****Ragnarök**

* * *

The end is near.

Welcome back to Rose and Fang, my Marimite vampire fanfic currently set in the years 1902 and 1903. Thanks so much for reading! Dark clouds gather over London as Sei and Shiori's undead forces, from common zombies to imperial soldiers, begin to roam the streets in an all-out invasion. With Westminster Abbey as the epicenter of the Countess's annexation and subjugation of the British Isles, the Chinensis, Foetida and Gigantea guilds frantically rally to take on Sei and Shiori, without the support of Tokyo Lillian College or the Japanese and British Empires. But the huntresses face almost insurmountable odds: they wage war against the most powerful human soeur in Lillian history and her violently devoted accomplices, Shizuka the vampire agent and the Countess herself, the ancient force of nature that mothered the vampire race. The timeless but insane Countess dons her crusader's venerable armor as she defends her new stronghold, Westminster, from the soeurs' desperate assault.

If Youko and Sei couldn't overcome their dark hearts on the Carpathian Mountains, how can Sachiko, Yumi and the others overcome that darkness that has manifested in the English capital?

Please R&R but most importantly enjoy! (n_n)

* * *

_Two years earlier, after the graduation of the first soeur generation. 1901_

Wearing a dull-colored jacket and long, sweeping dress, Torii Eriko stood at the dockside of Yokohama, staring up at the Japanese ship that had been proudly engineered by Japanese students who had studied in France and Holland. Recently the British had surpassed the French and Dutch with their naval expertise, and the time would soon come to invite British engineers and entrepreneurs to Japanese shores, and assimilate their technology so they could safeguard Emperor Meiji's expansionist ambitions in Qing-ruled China. There was no need to hurry. The Empire of Japan and her Emperor could endure anything, from constant war to the ravages of time itself. What was learning some new technology to them? They had plenty of time.

"Eriko-chan. I've come to say goodbye."

The newly promoted diplomat turned around, unconsciously adjusting her bonnet to make sure it was in the right position. "Yamanobe-sensei."

The slightly grubby teacher, in the humble attire of a middle-class, Westernized tutor took a deep bow. His leather shoes looked quite strange despite the Emperor's passion for modernizing the country at all levels, from military to social strata. "Congratulations on your promotion, Eriko-chan. I suppose you've gone so far ahead of me that I can't keep up anymore. To think you would never need my science classes again. The future is so exciting to you. We can already sail across the world. Who knows where we'll be in a few decades? Perhaps we can even reach for the stars."

"I'll take you with me," said Eriko, eyes shining. "Come with me and we can achieve great things together. I'll have you know, sensei. This world would be worse off without me. I believe that sincerely. Nothing has ever been too big a challenge for me. And dealing with the Western powers on behalf of Lillian College won't be different."

"Go with you? To London? Eriko-chan, I'm just a teacher. A poor man who loves dinosaurs." Yamanobe scratched the back of his mussy hair. "And you're an ambassador. There's a difference."

"There is no difference. Only love. Is that so hard to understand, Yamanobe-sensei?"

Yamanobe smiled, chuckling. "I can barely take care of myself. I couldn't take care of you, sweet girl."

"You're missing the point. _I'll_ take care of _you_."

Seagulls squawked in the blue sky. The graduated Yellow Rose stepped forward, running to him and catching him in a hug. She was rather shorter than him, but that didn't stop her from swiping off her bonnet, reaching up on tiptoes and kissing the teacher's lips passionately, her chin rubbing against the stubble on his. She cupped his hair, mussing it with her hand, relishing his smooth, soft skin. Her hand stroked his face in womanly wonder, opening her eyes only to look at him. His friendly brown eyes didn't reflect any emotion, only her smiling expression.

"You'll make a fantastic politician, Eriko-chan," mumbled Yamanobe.

When she had boarded the ship and the hooting began to deafen the docks, Eriko ran to the railing and waved her handkerchief down at her lover, her eyes shining. The frills from her bonnet blowing unsteadily in the salty breeze, she wanted to shout out. She wanted to cry out, "_I will return and be yours forever_." But she had to maintain her decorum. So she bit her lip and waved her handkerchief even harder. Her eyes pricked in pain with the unshed tears, but she swore in her heart to never forget this penniless, this wonderful man who lived life more truly than anyone she knew. He loved what he loved and happily paid the price for it, suffering for it with poverty and stress. Was anything more praiseworthy than that? She wanted to suffer and stress like that, too. She never stressed about anything in her entire life. Now, as the ship continued to carve across the waters, she realized that she wanted to suffer for her blossoming career too, and for him too.

"Goodbye, Eriko-chan," whispered Yamanobe, waving his hand. His heart ached, and suddenly he felt rather alone, standing all by himself on these wooden planks. "If you don't mind a wrinkly old man by the time you return, I'll be waiting."

* * *

_Present day, 1903. Savoy Hotel ballroom_

It was her last chance. She couldn't let this fail, or all would be lost. But so far, progress was not good. Not good at all.

"Lansdowne and Hayashi are avoiding me," growled Eriko under the bright chandelier, her voice still weak. All around her were the usual crowd she enjoyed: Etonians, successful graduates of Oxford and Cambridge, influential businessmen and several Peers of the Realm. A piano could be heard in the background, playing Liszt lightly and soothingly. But she wasn't in the mood to socialize. She needed to see the British and Japanese foreign ministers. Yet the guilds' onetime patrons, were nowhere to be seen. Had they already fled this gathering at the Savoy Hotel, which was a perfect opportunity for British and foreign representatives to seal some final business deals and connections before they fled London? After all, the news could no longer be suppressed – Westminster Abbey was under attack, and the Foreign Ministry simply noted that it was trouble caused by a disgruntled captain of the Royal Navy. This was, of course, an utter lie.

Eriko glanced up at the high stairs that led to the guestrooms, the wood covered in red carpet. Her lavish, conservatively woven gown barely covered the copious bandages that were wrapped across her torso and waist. Covered by her generous yellow ballroom dress, she now leaned on a cane, just able to walk, and Rei stood anxiously beside her, preparing to catch her if she teetered. "So they're stripping Lillian College of all its administrative and diplomatic powers? Well, over my dead body. They won't be so hasty when they've heard what I have to say. I'll convince them to defeat Sei with us. It's not too late to save Westminster. But we can't do it on our own, unless we want to suffer immense casualties."

"Are you sure this is ideal, onee-sama?" cried the shorthaired Rei, who was dressed in a boyish and handsome suit, with a matching grey tie, vest, trousers and coat. The only difference was that at her side hung her _katana's_ sheath. "You've just barely recovered, and Yumi-chan had to pour in all her strength for that."

Yoshino looked around, her grim expression oddly matching her frilly, black and white blouse and pearly stockings. "To think we'd need to resort to this and split up with the other guilds…"

"There's still time," whispered Eriko, her chest still hurting slightly. "If I can find them amidst this rabble… perhaps we have a chance to reverse the British King and His Imperial Majesty's decision to withdraw their support for the guilds and Lillian – "

"I'm afraid that won't be happening," came a casual voice – one that was all too familiar.

Yoshino slowly turned her head, her eyes widening in rage and boiling hatred as she looked upon Satou Sei's dashing, jet-black suit. She looked rather like an Etonian graduate, with her black, buttoned vest and spotless black leather shoes. Her immaculate raven coat draped around her white shirt and gentlemanly bow tie, and her short blonde hair draped just above her eyes. She stood before Eriko, Rei and Yoshino, blocking their way and denying them any chance of finding Lansdowne and Hayashi. She smiled, enjoying the visible shock and fury on the faces of the Yellow guild's members. Eriko visibly trembled as she leaned weakly on Rei's arm.

"S… Sei…"

"How dare you show your face to us after what you did to onee-sama," growled Rosa Foetida, and Yoshino slowly reached for the revolver tucked in her holster. This wasn't supposed to happen. Why was Sei here? This would spoil everything. Their last resort, their desperate plan to find the ministers, was falling apart. Did Sei have spies everywhere in London? "You… you fiend. What are you doing here?"

"Make a move on me and my vampiric agents will slaughter every human guest in this ballroom," said Sei smoothly. "I've had a little talk with Shizuka, and she should be occupying Yumi and Sachiko right about now. So don't assume the Chinensis guild can join hands with yours. And Shiori… the Countess." She smiled. "Well, let's just say she's wreaking havoc around London now, with the combined forces of my undead soldiers and her own thralls. I'm sure Rei and Yoshino-chan have far better things to do than to listen to two Old Girls prattle on about the good days. I think Shiori's first target is the Monument to London's Great Fire. So on that note, may I have a word with Eriko… alone?"

Yoshino could barely contain her passionate hatred. "Sei-sama, you're a backstabbing reprobate who just hid it well."

Rei bristled, her fangs now exposed as she prepared to silence that wicked mouth. "Of course you can't have onee-sama. Do you think we're stupid, you evil – "

It was then that Eriko realized that she had been outmanoeuvred. Time was short, and they couldn't afford to lose any more. "She's right. Sei's right." She didn't look at her petite soeur, who turned to her in astonishment. "She knows you're not stupid. But she does know that unlike her, you two are bound by duty and not by the darkness in your hearts. That's why I took you in, dear Rei… dear Yoshino-chan. You're half-vampires, but never for a moment did I lose faith in the power of anyone to overcome their weakness if they had enough faith. Obviously, my fellow Old Girl didn't try hard enough."

Sei closed her eyes, smirking at the barely veiled insult. The piano's melody continued to lilt pacifyingly with the chuckles and conversations of other guests in the background.

"Rei," continued Eriko calmly. "You and Yoshino-chan need to defeat Shiori-sama. Go to Fish Street Hill, where the Monument to the Great Fire stands. Go there and confront Shiori. She has total control over the British and Japanese Empire's forces with her demonic power. If you don't confront her, nothing will remain for the Foetida guild or its honor. We only have the hope that I can defeat the traitor before us here, and kill Shiori-sama and cut our losses. This battle would be lost if you lose your heads here at Sei's hands, my dear sisters." Eriko paused. "Defeat Shiori while Yumi-chan and Rosa Chinensis kill Shizuka-san. Then, return to Japan and don't come back for me or the other guilds. Protect our Emperor instead. Protect our people."

"No, onee-sama!" hissed Rei. "We'll stay and die by your side!"

"We swore when we became members of the Foetida guild! Eriko-sama!" cried Yoshino, prompting several of the ballroom guests to look at them quizzically or disapprovingly.

Sei mockingly placed a finger on her lips, signaling for Yoshino to be quiet.

Eriko's voice remained calm. It was extraordinarily courageous of her, to stand and meet the eyes of the girl who had reduced her body to this bandaged state. "Return to our country, my dears. There's no use filling up Heaven with our souls if Japan is empty of yours. Defend the future of our people. Warn them. Warn of the horrors that we shall face, the weapons that will massacre our nation," commanded the politician, and Yoshino's angry tears were reflected in her eyes as the diplomat condemned her juniors to a life without her, which might as well have been death. "No matter what happens to us in this bloody century… no matter what sins we commit and what sins are committed against us in the future… even if history abandons us to time's amnesia, don't lose faith." Her words were a command, but also a desperate plea. "Ensure that our people live to see through this century."

Yoshino and Rei trembled in helpless rage. But for the moment they bowed at the waist, their bodies barely concealing their shaking fury. Eriko closed her eyes, smiling. "Thank you, both of you. And goodbye, my most precious loves," she said.

"This isn't goodbye," gritted Rei, as she began to back off. "We will meet again, onee-sama. As soeurs are destined to do."

Yoshino shot a final glare at Sei as they reluctantly moved away with visible difficulty. It was just as well. They would need all their hatred if they were to survive against Shiori. Eriko opened her eyes and met Sei's only when she could no longer feel her juniors' presence. They had disappeared into the crowd and departed from the hotel.

"So, we're alone now," said the former Yellow Rose bravely, taking a deep breath and adjusting the band on her hair. "What do you want with me?"

The sinister Sei's eyes glinted in cruel glee as she slowly slipped off her white gloves. She extended a smooth, seductive hand to the girl she had shot in the chest only a month ago.

"May I have the pleasure of this dance?"

* * *

Eriko's jaw clenched, her heart pounding in simultaneous wrath and panic. The very thought of taking the hand of the one who nearly murdered her was revolting. "You're one sadistic bitch, Sei. Did you know that?"

The former Rosa Gigantea didn't budge. Her smile was gentle and relaxed, but it somehow felt false, like it wasn't reflecting kindness or even triumph, but a sick kind of self-indulgence, as if the battle had already been won and all that was left was to enjoy herself. "Why are you doing this to me?" demanded Eriko quietly. She didn't step forward, and could barely look at Sei when the former White Rose made the first move. The Admiral gently and insistently took the diplomat's waist, pressing Eriko to her and raising her arm as she began to lead.

"You'd refuse a dance with me?" she countered softly, holding Eriko's hand gently. She was only slightly taller than her, but her embrace was surprisingly gentle and firm, trained in the true manner of a dancer. "In front of everyone here? Hardly… diplomatic of you."

Eriko sometimes wondered if Sei made an even craftier politician than her. Those slick, laced black shoes began to move gracefully, and Eriko reluctantly allowed her own feet to step in tandem with Sei's easygoing, relaxed waltz.

"You didn't even let them say goodbye to Sachiko and Yumi-chan. Or to Shimako and Noriko-chan," commented Sei, moving elegantly and leading Eriko through the hall. "You've sent them to their deaths without closure."

"Defending the indefensible, are we, traitor?" scoffed Eriko, looking up at her. "You assume that Yoshino-chan and Rei will lose to your precious Countess. And yet, I still can't believe you're steering so many of us into ruin. You've betrayed Youko, and anyone could see that she cares for you. That she watched over you with more attentiveness and patience than you ever deserved! You're destroying not just us soeurs and our guilds, but Lillian… Britain… and our home too, Japan! And here I am, trying to clean up after your mess."

"Well, I'm here to make sure you won't be able to get in touch with those buffoons. Surely you deserve better than Hayashi and Lansdowne," whispered Sei into Eriko's ear, as some people turned to watch and admire them. A hateful tension simmered between their bosoms as they breathed together and let their hearts beat together. Eriko narrowed her eyes as she obeyed Sei for the moment, allowing herself to be swept in her nemesis's waltz. "Besides, if you're serious about having any chance to beat me, you're better off attacking me here and now, while I'm right in front of you and vulnerable."

"So this is what you're playing at. You plan to kill me," murmured Eriko, her other hand holding Sei's shoulder. She dug her nails into the fabric of her tuxedo, and Sei winced. "You nearly killed me already," she gritted, her lips less than an inch from Sei's ear. "And I trusted you. I trusted you, as a fellow Rose who studied with me. And don't start: I already know your reasons were much bigger than some petty grudge against Youko. You always had your reasons for doing things, even if they were ridiculous, destructive reasons. But these reasons… they've gone too far. They are evil, Sei."

"Yet you could never really, _truly_ hate me, could you?" confirmed Sei. "The fact that you didn't throw yourself at me the moment you saw my face is proof. Lies and deceit occur all the time in politics. You of all people should know that." The villain paused as she stepped back and spun Eriko around, her guidance unexpectedly tender and careful. Had she been aware of the wounds and bandages still underneath Eriko's clothes? "If I apologized, surely that would sound hollow, like a lie."

Eriko completed her twirl and eased into Sei's arms again. The two former Roses looked into each other's eyes as they continued to waltz for several minutes about the hall.

"Where are Lansdowne and Hayashi?" demanded Eriko finally. "One last chance, Sei. Before I really get angry."

Sei smiled. "I can't tell you that."

Eriko's hand slowly relaxed around Sei's shoulder. "Don't underestimate me, gorgeous," she hissed.

Sei's grin broadened, and her head moved closer to Eriko's face. As if understanding what was to come, Eriko didn't resist, and allowed Sei to peck her lightly on the cheek. Those soft lips brushed along aching skin.

"Bring it, old friend."

Seizing the moment, the former Yellow Rose gave a loud shriek as she suddenly pushed Sei away, prompting renewed gasps and mutters of surprise in the hall. Her black coat scratched, Sei staggered back in astonishment, and to the guests' horror, Eriko reached drew a dagger from a hidden niche in her blouse, aiming its blade at the Admiral's jugular. "_Seeeeeeeii_!" The ladies and gentlemen around the desperate girl shrieked and screamed in shocked fright, but only Sei's minions, the vampires lurking as businessmen or journalists amongst the crowd, reacted. They bared their fangs and rushed at the lunging Eriko, who continued to hack and slash feverishly at a surprised Sei. Eriko turned around, her eyes wild, as she grabbed Sei's hand. "You're not going anywhere, my fellow Old Girl," she barked, cutting her dagger wildly at one of the lunging vampires. His tuxedoed form fell, gore gushing from his slit throat. Eriko felt her body screaming in pain – she shouldn't have been exerting herself. But there was no other choice. She needed to know where Hayashi and Lansdowne were!

She needed to save Lillian!

Sei looked down at her onetime comrade in wonderment, dodging another swing from Eriko that would have otherwise left a nasty gash on her chest. "I didn't know you had such a fire burning in you, Eriko," she admitted quietly. "Good try. But you can't seriously expect to beat me with that puny dagger and those heavy wounds, right?"

Eriko slashed at Sei again, and the screaming human crowd fled the Savoy ballroom. More vampires detached themselves from the stampeding crowd and pounced at Eriko, with one catching her arm and holding on. Untrained and weakened from her convalescence, the former Yellow Rose struggled to free herself, to no avail. She managed to stab an undead noblewoman in the chest and carve a lethal laceration in the torso of another businessman, but she couldn't retrieve the dagger in time as two more suited men grabbed her roughly and shoved her, sending her fragile body tumbling to the ground. Refusing to cry, Eriko screamed in frustration as she felt some of her wounds, painstakingly healed by Yumi, reopening again. Blood began to soak into her bandages and into her blouse as she crawled away, and she turned around in dread as she heard Sei's shoes tapping on the floor.

"That was a wonderful dance, Eriko. I'm honored," taunted the Admiral, cocking her revolver, Forest of Thorns. She stood over the sprawled politician triumphantly, enjoying the piano that was still playing heartlessly away. "But you're really the kind of threat that I can't afford to overlook. I can't have you undoing my plans at this stage, ambassador." She aimed the barrel at Eriko's head, expressionless. "You sacrificed yourself for Rei and Yoshino-chan's sakes. It's up to them to make your gift worthwhile."

The diplomat couldn't help but give a dark chuckle, even as she silently prayed that her petite soeur – and Rei's petite soeur, too – could defeat, or at least survive, the Countess's power. "From our nursery brawl so many years ago to this… travesty. I guess you won – if this is what you call victory." Her laughter grew louder, scornfully and contemptuously as she stared up at her archenemy. Her dark hair spilled out beneath her. "Sei… I hope you're happy."

Sei brightened, lowering her gun unexpectedly and tucking it away.

She raised her foot instead, before thrusting it down with deadly force. Her black shoe descended on Eriko's face as the latter stared up powerlessly at the flat sole. The diplomat could feel that dismissive stomp crushing into her windpipe and cleanly snapping her spine. She breathed in bloody, helpless wonder as the dull ceiling of the ballroom, the pitiless laughter of Sei's vampiric minions, and the dazzling chandelier opened into the cloudless skies of Yokohama, where she had first set sail for London. Here, a handsome Japanese man awaited her in his snazzy, fashionable Western suit. His usually expressionless face broke into a wide smile. For all his pennilessness, today was a happy day.

"Welcome back," echoed his gentle voice.

Eriko smiled. She dropped her brown suitcase, ignoring her bonnet that fell off her head, and broke into a happy run as Yamanobe-sensei opened his arms.

Tokyo Lillian College's ambassador to the United Kingdom had returned home.

* * *

Two nimble shadows leaped across the rooftops, and they sprung from the concrete, somersaulting over the streets and landing on another set of tiles. Yoshino and Rei sprinted toward the towering Monument, where Sei had directed them. The roads and four-story apartment blocks were silent. The wealthier civilians in the area had already been evacuated. Poorer men, women and children and foreigners like Indians, Arabs and Chinese were left to fend for themselves, and every now and then the cousins could glimpse a stray victim being devoured by a similarly stray ghoul or vampire. But there wasn't any more time. The real enemy awaited them. Even the King had taken contingency measures, holing up in a comfortable bunker with his ministers to discuss the fate of the British Empire. Even from a distance, it was possible to see why London was in a state of fear. Unholy vines and thickets grew around Westminster Abbey, creeping out from the epicenter of Shiori's coffin and altar and stretching as far as the eye could see.

"A true Forest of Thorns…"

London had changed almost completely in the last week, and the soeurs had been powerless to do anything about it.

"There she is," growled Rei, pointing at the smoking ruins of the buildings around Fish Street Hill. "Finally. Our true and final enemy, the Countess." English zombies wandered the rubble, their shambling, poorly clothed bodies crawling and staggering aimlessly amongst shattered concrete. Other higher undead – the vampiric soldiers of the British Empire and some from Scotland Yard – surrounded the Monument, protecting the thin girl who stood in front of the memorial to the inferno that had reduced the English capital to ashes in 1666. Now, Kubo Shiori was about to burn the city to the ground again. Clad in her gold-plated, Eastern European armor, with a lavish two-headed eagle decking the protruding crest on her ornate helm, the lady of all vampires stood on top of a tall pile of corpses, a mountain of silent human bodies. Her dark green cape, embroidered with silver patterns at the edges, billowed in the maritime wind of southern England, and her breastplate shone with an emblazoned cross, so old that it had lived through the Countess's wars against the Mongol Khans, against the Ottoman sultans, and against a male peer called Vlad the Impaler. She had donned this suit of ancient, regal armor specifically for this glorious occasion, when twentieth-century London would fall and become her new castle, with the Thames as her moat. She did everything for Rome, for the Catholic Church, but above all for Sei-sama. Sei's beauty and adoration had driven her insane, but she didn't mind. Until someone broke the spell of that mighty human girl over this immortal queen, the queen would continue to feed.

Her mysterious, glowing red eyes drew Rei and Yoshino in, entrancing them even as they hurled themselves from the nearest rooftops. "Attack the undead around her first!" roared Rei, landing in a predacious crouch. "Winnow down her armies, then we'll wear her down together!"

Yoshino drew her Mauser pistol and serrated knife, aiming its extremely long barrel at the zombies and shooting frenziedly. The enhanced bullets tore through several zombies, their rotting forms falling and tumbling off the ruins. Rei landed on the ground and unsheathed her Japanese sword, proudly breaking into a charge and tearing into the vampiric policemen and infantry that fired at her. They screamed in pain as she tapped into her half-vampiric strength, launching herself into the air and kicking into a soldier that barred her way. His body was cleanly split from the waist, and his shrieking torso tumbled off his hips. Her grey suit already soaked in undead blood, Rei pointed at the grisly mountain of human bodies on which Shiori stood. "Get down here, Countess," she demanded loudly, as Yoshino sliced her way through several hapless, lower class undead. "You'll kill no more."

"Rosa Foetida, Hasekura Rei-sama. It's my honor," breathed Shiori's delicate voice, and despite the heavy silver armor she wore, leaped effortlessly into the air, slamming into the ground before the ghastly corpse heap. Her fragile thinness was deceiving. "Sei-sama told me about the foes I would be facing. So I have appeared in this form to respectfully welcome your challenge. Come and put an end to this dream, if you can," whispered the Countess, raising her golden gauntlet and drawing her own weapon – a large, medieval longsword from her silver scabbard. Its hilt was gold, but the rest of the blade was of an austere, Germanic aesthetic. Her pious eyes glinted, past her golden helmet. "_Destroy my dream of Shiori_!"

"Dream? _Dream_? You have murdered _real_ people. _Living_ people!" spat Yoshino. "We're going to cut away your Forest of Thorns here and now!"

A roaring Rei raised her _katana_ and charged at Shiori, who raised her longsword. Their swords met, and Rei was hurled away with an incredible, primal force that she had never felt before. She skidded along the ground, almost a yard or two away from Shiori. Baring her hybrid fangs, Rosa Foetida pounced again, undaunted. The Countess raised her sword in an overhead guard and countered Rei's upward attack with a downward slash. Three more swings, and they were dueling with all their strength, with a sweating Rei's _kenjutsu_ locked against the Countess's longsword, struggling briefly before the combatants leaped away from each other. Rei lunged and thrust with all her inhuman strength, but whereas her attack would have punched through an entire stone wall, here the Countess simply parried and slammed the _katana_ into the ground.

As the arch-vampire pinned down Rei's blade, Yoshino spun in the air and fired several deft shots at their immortal enemy. Shiori's dark, bottomless eyes widened in surprise as her shoulder pauldrons exploded from the force of Yoshino's anti-undead bullets. Forced back by Rei's sword, she assumed a defensive guard, parrying the relentless blows from the Yellow Rose's sword. Yoshino fired her pistol again, its incredibly powerful bullet punching into Shiori's armor and piercing her side. But the Countess's wounds began to close up, prompting a cry of surprise from Rosa Foetida en bouton. "Those bullets were constructed from explosive Macedonian silver!" snarled Rei, her breath hot on Shiori's face. "How – _how_ – what black magic could possibly resist them?"

"They hurt, of course. They're the most powerful bullets I've ever seen," said Shiori calmly, Rei's sword inches from her throat. The death knight pushed the Yellow Rose back. "But you should know by now that I, who have gone by the name of Lilith, Izanami, Freya, Brigantia and more, am not killed so easily. Even the Satou family couldn't destroy me… much less you, who are far younger than me and the Satou clan's experience." The Countess sprinted at Rei, jumping up and swinging up her sword. Rei dived forward, rolling past the undead crusader and evading the devastating impact of the vampire queen's blade. The ground was carved in half, and stone and dislodged concrete flew in all directions as Shiori pulled back her sword. Her cape billowed around her as she slowly rose, glancing at the unsettled Rei. "You have both come in a haste, unprepared. That's why your lives will end today. There can be no other fate."

"Bluffer," retorted Yoshino. Shiori blocked Yoshino's twisting blade with her gauntlet, but Rosa Foetida en bouton was undaunted. She advanced, somersaulting and clanging her knife against Shiori's forearm again, until the latter gave ground. But Yoshino was also forced to dive away when crackling, black lightning shot from Shiori's fingertips, unholy energy conducting through her skin and into the metal of her gauntlet, before exploding towards the Yellow bouton. Yoshino swore, scrambling away again, her braids trailing behind her, but the black lightning simply changed course in unnerving jagged lines, homing in ruthlessly on the running Yoshino and slamming into her back. Coughing blood, the petite soeur flew into the ruins nearby the Monument, crushing herself face-first into the stone and pulverizing her rib cage. Rei shouted out in concern, but couldn't rush to Yoshino's aid as Shiori now raised her arm, her otherwise calm eyes widening monetarily in concentration. She thrust a bent knee down on the ground, and the murky lightning channeled itself into the ground, spreading through the stone like a horde of termites. The grey and red road and pavements now began to blacken, darken, and soon it was like Rei and Yoshino were in another world, but everything above their feet and shoes remained the same. The couple panted, their eyes locked on the shadowy Countess. "Damn her. Her defense is pretty good, I'll give her that."

She glanced around in trepidation and slight confusion.

"This black ink… what is it, Rei-chan?"

"Keep a keen lookout. No doubt it's another trick of hers," muttered Rei, steadying the grip around her _katana_.

Shiori's eyes shone as the creeping darkness surrounded the combatants. The area around her was saturated in the ink. She stood up again, and to Rei and Yoshino's surprise, raised her sword and slowly slipped it back into her scabbard, sheathing it. "What are you trying to pull?" shouted Rosa Foetida. "What witchery is this?"

"Your training is extraordinary. You, noble sisters, stand before me by your own merit and strength, by virtue of your mutual love. And for that, I cannot help but admire you deeply. I wanted to see, before this ended, just what real soeur love was like. And now I know," praised Shiori. "We have reached the end of all I hoped to know."

"The end?" barked Rei, her shaking, burning hands raising her sword. "I have no idea what you're babbling about, but this is far from over, Countess," she bellowed, and at an accord, she and her bouton charged the vampire. Yoshino raised her gun, firing again, and Shiori staggered as four bullets punched into her chest, stomach and leg. The gold armor didn't regenerate, but her bleeding flesh did.

The Countess smiled sadly. "No. It _is_ over."

At first, Yoshino didn't realize what was going on. She thought it might have been an earthquake. Why else were her feet firmly planted on the ground one moment, and then several feet above the cobblestone the next? Why was she suddenly facing the sky? But with her strange elevation came excruciating, backbreaking pain, shooting through every corner of her body. Black poles conjured from hellish magic – tall, long vertical spikes – erupted from the ground, bursting from Shiori's slick sea of darkness, piercing up into Yoshino's backbone, into her feet and calves and thighs, into her elbows, crushing her joints instantly and hurling her into the air, taking her struggling, jerking body with them as they rose high into the sky to match the English skyline. Soaked in freshly drawn blood from this porcupine of bristling poles, she couldn't hear herself scream as she vomited mucus and gore, with eleven-foot spikes thrusting into her torso, spilling out her guts and shattering her bones and cartilage. Her arms hung limply in an impossible angle as she gasped, her perforated heart and lungs wheezing desperately for air. But she was suffocating from her destroyed organs, drowning in the blood that was flooding past her ruptured vessels, the internal bleeding that spilled out through her eyes and mouth.

Her hands suddenly felt so relaxed. Her serrated knife and Mauser fell from her loosening grip and dropped thirteen or so feet back to the blood-soaked ground.

From the corner of her eye, she could see what happened to her senior. She could _see_. And it struck terror and despair into her broken spine.

_Rei-chan_…

Rosa Foetida had fought valiantly. She had fought beautifully. She had struggled so bravely. But now, spikes had dug into her legs, into her pelvis, impaling her in a frontal position, spiking her through the breasts, the belly, and the groin. Blood poured like fountains from her pierced orifices. Her grey suit was torn and tattered, seeping generously with gore. The skewered Rei's eyes no longer reflected light, and the Yellow Rose's hand released her _katana_. It slowly, slowly fell to the ground, making a loud, horrible clang beside the corpse of a vampire.

Her gaping eyes facing the ground, Rosa Foetida gagged, her head snapping back and blood bursting past her lips, as a spike shot up from the ground and stabbed cleanly through her neck, severing her jugular and emerging above her spinal chord. Blood and tissue slipped down its sharp tip.

The dying Yoshino groaned, too exhausted to even express the pain at the spikes spearing her body. "Rei… Rei-chan!"

"No-one can stop Sei-sama's world-destroying adoration. No sane mortal can stop my world-destroying dreams. Now our love reaches its logical conclusion, its fulfillment," whispered Kubo Shiori through the Countess, spreading her skinny arms in exultant sorrow as the impaled Hasekura Rei and Shimazu Yoshino screamed in their death throes, writhing and twitching in racked, searing agony.

"_Everyone dies_."

* * *

The Yellow bouton had lost anything that could have been called sensations in her legs. She could barely feel anything anymore. She wanted to black out, but she could still hear the voice that she loved so much, that voice she fell asleep with by night as well as by day. "Yoshino. Can you hear me?" Despite her destroyed neck, Rei's vampiric blood gave her ever so little time, time that no human could have enjoyed. "Can you… hear me?"

"I can. I can, Rei-chan."

"Yoshino. Yoshino. Yoshino. Yoshino." Blood spewing from her mouth and eyes, her hair hanging down her face as she feebly turned her head, Rosa Foetida simply repeated the name of her cousin, her cherished petite soeur, even as her raspy voice grew fainter by the moment. She closed her eyes, as if it was time for bed, time to tuck in with her cousin. She ignored the agony shooting along the nerves of her spiked neck. "Yoshino."

"Rei-chan, stop it. You're going to die."

"Yoshino."

"Rei-chan!" shrieked the younger huntress, staring up at the sky and blinking away the tears trickling down the sides of her head and hair. "I'm going to hit you if you don't shut up! Save your strength."

Rei smiled, her eyes relaxing. She _still_ didn't listen. "Yoshino…"

Three more supernatural poles thrust into her pelvis, spine and chest, sending her body higher into the sky and meeting the height of the bloodstained buildings around the Monument. Yoshino couldn't even scream. She could cry, however, and she could rave and rage against Shiori for this injustice, for this outrage that she would surely avenge… "To die in this shitty city, ridiculous!" spat and ranted the bouton bitterly, her eyes widening at the renewed pain shooting into her groin and despoiled organs, into her intestines, into her sternum. "To condemn us here… Sei-sama, you'll pay for all that you've done to Foetida! To everyone! You'll fucking pay…"

_You never listen to me, Rei-chan_, she thought, sniffling furiously and letting out a high-pitched squeak for her senior huntress. _If only you hadn't shouted my name_…

She began to choke on her blood and tears. There was too much inside her; it was flowing out, it was suffocating her. It was no longer easy to breathe, what with all the bile welling up in her torn gullet. There was no way anyone – even half-vampires like them – could heal from wounds like these. She had even forgotten about Shiori, who simply gazed up, before lowering her eyes and looking away. Yoshino's long braids dangled from the spikes, swinging freely, soaked in her blood. There was only pain, burning pain, and the silence of Rei's corpse.

"To be born unloved and cared for by no one," mourned Rosa Foetida en bouton tearfully, "only by Maria-sama… only by Eriko-sama…"

The world slowly went black, darkening into eternal nightfall.

Yoshino's raised hand no longer trembled.

"_Rei-chan_…"

* * *

_Late afternoon_

The impaled, silent bodies of the Foetida guild tainted the darkening sky, their dripping corpses and dangling limbs plopping the blasted ground with their cold blood. The gore, as if of its own free will, slipped down the tall stakes and seeped toward Shiori's greaves, moving to her, soaking into her metal armor. The Countess was absorbing Rei and Yoshino's blood, her hands raised at the waist as she closed her eyes in meditation, feeding and nourishing herself quietly. She had sheathed her longsword, murmuring a short, unholy prayer in tribute to her admirable opponents. But the two half-vampires – themselves huntresses – couldn't have hoped to best the queen of night-kin.

She opened her mouth again, her black hair blowing in the eerie, infernal breeze. She let out a deep breath, stilling her thumping heart, before uttering a final salutation to her fallen foes.

"Until another era, another world, soeurs of the Yellow guild."

Licking her lips silently, the Countess stared up, her eyes shining as she saw a ninja's black form hurtling like a shadowless meteor from the bloody sky, followed closely by the shining light of an angel.

"Welcome, you who gave Sei-sama what I couldn't," breathed Shiori.

Todou Shimako's holy armor encased her from head to toe, with a shower of iridescent, celestial particles trailing from her platinum greaves and breastplate. The only thing recognizable was her silken hair, which spilled out behind her knightly helm. Her grey eyes shone through her crucifix-shaped visor, and Nijou Noriko drew her short sword, expression wild with rage as the Gigantea sisters looked upon the wide-eyed, desperate faces of their dead Foetida comrades.

"My darling chick," whispered Shimako, as they descended like falling stars, "my chick who teaches me about true freedom – the freedom to love you. Will you live in my nest forever? I promise it will be warm and soft."

"I will. And I'll defend it with my life," snarled Noriko.

Baring her long fangs, the mirage called Kubo Shiori gripped the handle of her sword and unsheathed it again, its hilt glinting. Somehow, she knew this knight, this squire of Heaven, was the foe she needed to topple. Shimako was the final remnant that testified to Sei's long-lost sanity, a living relic of the time when Sei still knew what true love was. Indeed, Shimako was human, whilst Shiori had been an angel, an illusion of goodness. That was why Shimako retained her sanity, and Sei could have perhaps been saved by Shimako's devotion. Yet the Countess couldn't help wondering: what would it have been like if Sei's past and future met earlier? In a different world, where Shiori and Shimako weren't mortal foes? But that made this battle even more fitting. A poetic mêlée of wills! The Countess raised her tall blade high into the air, thrusting it upwards to meet Shimako's weapon – a shimmering, long estoc sword made of angelic tears.

The resounding impact would shatter the sky itself.

The young truth now confronted the ancient lie.

"And so… by command of Sei-sama herself, I shall snuff out the light of her own heir, Rosa Gigantea."

* * *

**Next chapter: Gigantea's sundown. Dusk has set on the Foetida family. Sei and Shiori's butchery of the soeurs continues! **

**But Rosa Chinensis and her vampiric bouton have yet to fall…**


	9. My Precious Vampire

**Chapter 9**

**My Precious Vampire**

* * *

Welcome back to Rose and Fang! (n_n) You probably noticed I like having Yumi's hair let down and loose as a vampire, but I think it suits her occasionally animal nature. :P

War is raging. The Foetida guild has been annihilated, with Sei cruelly killing her longtime rival, the diplomat Eriko. Rei and Yoshino fought the Countess valiantly, but were caught unawares by Shiori's power. Their impaled, dripping corpses now taint the London skyline, their blood flowing down unholy poles formed by Shiori's black magic. But the counterattack hasn't ended. The Gigantea soeurs, Shimako and Noriko, hurl themselves with suicidal courage at the Countess and her undead, determined to hold back the night's hordes. Creation trembles as a final battle is fought between the avatar of darkness and the angel of light, the ancient Countess and youthful Shimako. Which of the two faces of Sei's love will endure: the cursed past or the hopeful future?

Meanwhile, Yumi and Sachiko prepare their own counterattack. Sei's vampire agent, Shizuka, leads an all-out assault on London's streets, with her main target being none other than Number 9, Lilyston Square – Sachiko's cozy apartment. No innocent will be spared, but Rosa Chinensis intends to take the fight right to Westminster, where the mastermind of this hateful cataclysm waits. With her warm days and nights at the residential square numbered, Yumi wonders what the future will hold for her and her human mistress, this human mistress who loves her enough to give her own blood for her to feed…

My fanfic is almost at its end. Please enjoy this penultimate chapter!

* * *

_Early morning. Around after midnight_

She spent much of the day – and night – and then the early morning – in the Red Rose's arms. Yumi felt slightly guilty for that, especially when she knew that there were vampires out on the streets of the English capital, that Shiori had been unleashed upon the innocent denizens of London by their mentor-turned-nemesis. But when the world you knew was about to end, no one would blame you for indulging a little in the things that really mattered. This was no ordinary war between humans and the undead. The soeurs never thought that their struggle would end at the hands of the Forest of Thorns: a warped relationship between the human Admiral and the immortal Countess. All the more fitting, then, that Yumi and Sachiko, a couple of the oddest mismatch, would be the ones to put an end to it.

But for now, before Shizuka arrived, before it all came crashing down, they made love on their canopied bed.

Yes, Yumi had overwhelmed Sachiko with undead passion many times before. It was unfair to expect her not to be crazed with desire by the blood that Sachiko freely gave her. It was unfair to expect a vampire could temper her hunger without some measure of discipline, censure and _love_ from the Red Rose. But now it was Sachiko's turn to carry the passion, for Yumi felt like being the undead damsel today, swept away in a whirlwind of European balms and Japanese flowers by the brave human on top of her naked body. Rosa Chinensis had put on her queenly rose perfume, but Yumi's strong vampire nose could only smell her human sweat and juices that made her so wonderfully alive and real. Natural. She giggled and sighed and moaned and screamed at her mistress's touch. Those lips – by Abel's blood, they were magnificent, as splendid as Sachiko's gentle hands and fingers that ran across and inside the vampire. The Red Rose was so protective and loving, her fingers clasping Yumi's wrists as her throbbing breasts, stomach and vulva pinned her vampire lover on the mattress, their entangled, bare legs rubbing and massaging against each other. Sachiko nibbled at Yumi's collarbone, and the vampire turned her head to the side, fangs clenched and brown hair spilled loose. She felt Sachiko suffusing her, diffusing into her.

She almost wanted to cry in self-reproach. Because even in the midst of all this sadness, she could find an unsurpassed contentment.

"Onee-sama. Onee-sama!" Yes, she repeated that honorific, that glorious title that only Sachiko deserved. Encouraged by her insistent mewing, the Red Rose kissed her harder on the mouth, her own passion bewildering her. She almost regretted leaving it this late, because they could soon very well die. "I love you, onee-sama." She smiled, showing her lengthened fangs. They had grown longer since she was first turned, and Sachiko couldn't help feeling proud. How ironic: she, a vampire hunter, was feeling a lover's, sister's, mother's pride in her heart for this undead being in her room.

Sachiko slowly lifted her damp lips from the shaking Yumi's. "Thank you for living with me here, for these years. They were the happiest of my life. I will never forget this," she said, in a rare expression of her deepest, most vulnerable feelings. "The joy I feel in my heart in inexpressible. You have made the Chinensis guild what it is – a guild that accepts the darkness because the darkness is not always evil."

"And I accept you in me," whispered Yumi playfully, her finger pushing at Sachiko's breast. The Red Rose slowly lifted herself off, and Yumi scrambled up and planted herself on all fours, wiggling her raised behind at her mistress. Clasping her arms excitedly, she giggled at Sachiko's flushing face, her cheek pressing on the bed sheets. "Discipline me," she laughed, clenching her toes in anticipation.

Rosa Chinensis shuffled forward to join her, aroused by the other's unusually sexy, high-pitched voice. "Unruly vampire. Know your place." Sachiko's almost angry hands sent a thunderbolt through Yumi's nerves, and the way her lady clutched her buttocks was enough to earn another passionate squeal from the undead. Sachiko kissed her deeply again, and Yumi could feel her writhing body weeping in emotion, her consciousness bound completely to this beautiful individual, this huntress whose mussed black hair looked so perfect, so elegantly animal. Sachiko's quiet whispers – with that voice, that hot breath and those comforting words, spoken to her in the most direct way possible – were nothing less than a blessing, a blessing that made her body quiver in unrelenting climax again and again. Sachiko flipped the helpless vampire on her back again, pinning her down and shoving her soft torso into her face, demanding that her immortal servant suck her hard nipples, to suckle her dry. Yumi gladly obliged, growling in submission as she fed on her mistress until Sachiko, too, was lying together with her, wrapped in each other's satisfaction, with no shame at all and every reason to sing to the world of their mutual devotion.

The world was going to end soon, anyway.

"It's probably time," whispered Sachiko, after a long period of simply lying on her side, facing her bouton and stroking her face and tresses. "I'm sorry to be the spoilsport, but we're in the middle of war."

"Not at all," murmured Yumi. She rose, leaned over and kissed Sachiko lightly on the ear. She didn't reply to her mistress's teasing reproach. She moved off the bed, walking around its cramped space, and drew aside the laced curtain that hid the couple's privacy from the outside world. "Let me do some reconnaissance, onee-sama." She peeked slowly out, looking around the silent square as she draped her shirt around her otherwise naked form.

_Bang_.

A deafening gunshot rang out, and a bullet smashed through the window and into her head, emerging cleanly from her cranium. Jelly and blood gushed from her pierced eye socket, and she wobbled unsteadily as her shocked expression slackened dumbly.

"Yumi!" screamed her shocked grande soeur above the tinkling glass. She reached for her crimson lingerie hurriedly, grabbing her frilled shirt and Rosa Chinensis brooch. She whipped on her stockings, pulling the dark fabric along her slender leg. "She's really just right outside, damn her." Yumi's leg banged against the edge of the bed as dark mist erupted from her injury, almost instantly eating away at the wound and replacing the damaged tissue with fresh matter. Yumi's bloody brow twitched as her new brown eye blinked in surprise.

"She shot me!" cried the vampire indignantly, rubbing her bleeding head.

"Get dressed," snapped a furious Sachiko. She swept up her dark blue, noblewoman's tailcoat and draped it around herself. "Sei-sama can't even give us a moment of peace together! Is that madwoman that jealous of you and me?" She strode over to her umbrella stand and swept up her sword cane, revealing the straight, blessed blade called Flower Stalk. Her now gloved hands gripped the silver, rose-shaped hilt tightly. Her dark eyes glinted as she looked into her petite soeur's eyes. "Yumi. Follow me into the darkness. You're the dusk I trust. Swallow me in your blackness. I am yours forever."

Flicking back her long hair, Yumi grinned ravenously, her undead bloodlust stirring within her bosom.

"Understood, my mistress. My onee-sama."

* * *

Corpses of those brave, stupid or unlucky enough to walk the streets littered the apartment steps of Lilyston Square and its central garden. Except for the blood and bodies, the residential square was totally empty except for Shizuka, who stood behind a force of Scotland Yard's elite police. Their red eyes glowed in admission that they had submitted to Shizuka's vampirism. Her long beige coat was wrapped around her body, and her long legs kept warm in black trousers with high boots.

She lowered her gun, smiling to herself as she waited patiently for several minutes. "A force of nature is behind this house. And it's not Rosa Chinensis."

The door of Number 9 burst open, revealing a gallantly dressed Yumi, in a black buttoned vest and tie, a white shirt, and ebony trousers and laced shoes. Sachiko's Catholic rosary completed her new, pseudo-butler look, dangling loosely in front of her tie and vest. No longer did she tie her long hair in pigtails, and Shizuka realized that Yumi, in her own peculiar way, looked a lot more mature.

A good deal more sexual.

And far more dangerous.

"To be fair, I already took you seriously the first time we fought," said Sei's vampire agent, tucking away her gun. Her yellow eyes shone ambitiously. "And even though Sei-sama's blood now courses through me, I'll still take no chances with you."

"So Sei-sama has made you an equal to me," snarled Yumi, "by freely giving you blood." Sei's dark deed sounded so intimate, yet so unpleasant. What had the Admiral sunk to? Yumi flexed her fingers, and her claws visibly grew longer, curved nails sharpening into hard, painful bone. "But you won't get further than here, because unlike Sei-sama, my grande soeur loves me without any of the lies. Even you should know that the Admiral has fallen into the Hell of her own making with the Countess. We're not letting you set one foot into our apartment. And I have a few words to have with Sei-sama."

As she spoke, the vampires behind Shizuka cried out in surprise at a loud _hiss_. A haze of holy smoke engulfed the battalion, sending the orderly regiment into a panicked, mob-like fright. Shizuka turned around in annoyed surprise, only to realize that the smoke came from a bomb, thrown from the window she had only just shot through to announce her presence. Sure enough, the rest of the broken window was smashed into oblivion from the inside, and the slender, suited form of Sachiko emerged, her raven eyes stabbing into those of the vampires. In an acrobatic display of her gymnastic skill, Sachiko hurled herself smoothly past the broken glass, without cutting a single thread of her clothing, landing outside the building in a crouch amongst the flowers and tossing another three bombs at the struggling police-vampires. Three explosions rocked the square again, and the vampires coughed and gagged, with several collapsing from dissolving throats.

"Don't just stand there!" snapped the Pink Rose, visibly frustrated for the first time. She revealed her own claws, elongating from her elegant hand. "Shoot them down."

But as the police undead fired at Yumi and Sachiko with their oversized pistols, the Chinensis vampire roared and visibly vanished into a haze of mist. This mist swallowed the hail of bullets, and soon it was slithering towards Shizuka, who dived and rolled away. The vampires panicked and shot relentlessly at the crawling fog with their pistols, but soon Yumi's crouching form had emerged amidst the stunned invaders, and with another roar Yumi was tearing through the male vampires, her claws cleaving away their innards and gutting their throats. She grabbed the collar of one much taller than her, snarling, and hurled him high into the air. As his struggling form fell back down from the sky, Sachiko raised her pistol Vermillion, firing at his head. Her flawless aim ensured the second death for the policeman, and he fell amongst his comrades, sending shouting compatriots tumbling to the ground. Losing patience with her subordinates, Shizuka shouted out a quick necromantic spell and hurled a black, whistling cloud at Yumi, who somersaulted back and allowed another vampire to take the rotting magic in the face. He crumpled, his bone and flesh eaten away by his mistress's dark art.

Skidding to a stop on the road and pavement, the suited Yumi growled, baring her fangs and bending her knees. Behind her, Sachiko raised her sword in an overhead guard. Together, they faced off against the glaring Shizuka as they defended their home, inseparable.

Unstoppable.

Chinensis.

"I'm hungry," roared Yumi, pouncing ferociously. Rosa Canina smiled in reply, and her eyes, those piercing pupils, rolled back macabrely into the back of her head. She and Yumi ran at each other like ravenous beasts, spreading their arms and tightening their fingers. Shizuka's first swipe broke Yumi's nose, slashing through the latter's cartilage and hurling chunks of flesh into the cool air. Bleeding profusely and healing at the same time, Yumi responded with her own swing, brutally cutting away Shizuka's bottom lip and spilling a torrent of blood from the agent's exposed gums and teeth. Long hair flowing, Rosa Chinensis en bouton thrust her hand forward, stabbing into Shizuka's right breast. Growling softly, the bleeding Shizuka forced Yumi away by backhanding her junior in the chin, cleanly breaking her jaw. They bashed and eviscerated and welted each other as Yumi forced Shizuka to give ground slightly. Slash by slash, swing by swing, the two powerful vampires traded injury for injury, regenerating their wounds the moment they were inflicted. "Keep Rosa Chinensis pinned down!" called Shizuka, as the vampire forces fired at Sachiko again. With her staggering reflexes, Sachiko calmly deflected several bullets by spinning her blade, before retreating from the hail of metal pellets by running around the vampire regiment, raising Vermillion and unleashing her own silver bullets. Two, three and five Scotland Yard undead folded, their heads penetrated by silver. As Yumi and Shizuka continued to rip and lacerate each other with their claws, Sachiko sprinted towards the men, realigning her sword.

Shizuka's nails dug into Yumi's neck and tore out her flesh and skin. "I live to serve Sei-sama," she snarled.

"And I live to serve onee-sama," cried Yumi, ripping away a portion of Shizuka's cheek. "Maybe we're not so different, Rosa Canina – we're just undead scrambling for our human mistresses' approval."

Sachiko spun, pivoting, and sliced off an undead's legs with a smooth flick of her sword. The simple realization that she just _couldn't_ die here was enough to sharpen her senses, focus her aim and perfect her swordplay. She blocked a vampire's haymaker with a raised forearm, swinging her sword horizontally and spilling out his intestines. She allowed the arc of her blade to continue, gutting two more vampires before kicking her boot into the stomach of a charging monster. Clutching his midsection, he folded and crumpled. Spinning her sword, the Red Rose attacked again, this time chopping into multiple vampires. Bending her body to control the direction of the gyrating Flower Stalk, the swordswoman could see, in the chaotic blur, the heads that were flying, the torsos that were reduced to pieces of meat, and the blood that was spattering the pavement and road. The rest of the brigade was screaming in fear and terror as they realized that eternal life didn't mean being able to beat Rosa Chinensis.

No, she couldn't die here. There was still Youko, her onee-sama, to save. There was still Sei, her hated enemy, to kill. Too much remained to be done.

Yumi and Shizuka continued to struggle against each other, this time through a duel with black necromancy. The early morning sky looked even darker as a tidal wave of black ink behind Yumi rose high above the apartment block, casting a deep shadow over Shizuka. It fell upon the Pink Rose, but Shizuka lowered herself into a crouch and smacked an open palm onto the ground. Her yellow eyes glinted as Yumi's black shower of rot fell upon her –

"Yumi!" screamed Sachiko as she beheaded the last of the undead police. "The ground!"

"Huh?" blurted her bouton cluelessly.

Shizuka smiled as a strange sound, like thunder, filled the air. "Let me show you what Sei-sama's blood has made me capable of."

A disconcerted Yumi felt herself being lifted from the splitting concrete and stone as the head of an oversized maggot – a gargantuan, revolting wurm – erupted from beneath her feet, sending her flying helplessly into the sky. Her necromantic tsunami scattered uselessly as the wurm's faceless, slimy countenance, larger than an entire building block, emerged from the quaking, falling cobblestone, its maggoty, undead body tunneling out of its hole and smashing into the ground again. Its massive bulk didn't seem to end. "You – " cried Yumi furiously, two leathery bat's wings exploding from her back and flapping in the cool morning air. She hurtled back down, reaching for Rosa Canina, only to be smashed aside by the greasy, bleeding wurm's head. She slammed into the balcony of the resident's apartment above Sachiko's flat, feeling her back break from the force against the crumpling railing. Blood flew from her mouth. "Run, onee-sama," gritted the vampire, her spinal discs fusing together dutifully.

Sachiko fired her gun wildly at the wurm's pink flesh, but the beast ignored the paltry silver bullets, slamming into the dizzy Yumi and wriggling through the innocent neighbors' wall, crushing into the wood and glass and interior, scattering furniture and killing the sleeping residents instantly as the wurm's head crushed their bed and reduced their bodies to bloody pulp. The dazed vampire felt giddy as she dug her claws into the oversized maggot's flesh, ignoring the chair, sofa, and cupboards and random utensils and crockery that she collided into, before feeling herself crash through wood and glass again – the other side of the building. Lilyston Square was being reduced to rubble as the burrowing colossus emerged from the upper floor, and Yumi's wings flapped frantically, directing her battered body away from the thrashing freak. The wurm, fixated on her, continued its relentless pursuit as Shizuka threw herself at Sachiko. Sachiko raised her sword, blocking and retreating from the Pink Rose's claws. Meanwhile, the wurm's long body slithered through the hole of an apartment, landing wetly on the gardens and lunging at the vampire in the sky.

"This is from Sei-sama's blood…" murmured the hovering Yumi. "The blood of the woman I admired… the lady who I wanted to teach me so much more…"

She clenched her fists, closing her eyes and summoning every drop of Sachiko's blood that coursed through her, the love and nourishment the Red Rose had given of her own free will. And in that moment, she remembered that Sachiko's love for her was truer than Sei's manipulative affection for Shizuka. And that was why she, a proud vampire, would win.

The moon was bright tonight.

She hurtled from the heavens with blinding speed, shooting directly for the thrashing wurm, and punched through its head in exactly the same way it had punched through the upper-level apartment. Shutting her eyes and mouth tightly as she ignored her revolting, suffocating flight inside the wurm's mucus-soaked, boneless build, a soaked, dripping Yumi tore through the top of the worm savagely, ripping apart the undead flesh with all her strength. Clawing left and right, she dealt a devastating blow to the convulsing body, her aching arms pulling apart the tissue and skin so she could brutally emerge. It had only been several moments, but it seemed an eternity before the vampire finally forced herself out of the wriggling giant, and it died a silent death, rumbling to a stop as its squirming form stilled, lying amongst the destroyed building and squashed shrubs, grass and flowers. Painted bricks and wood and remnants of a homely life lay scattered about, but Yumi had no time to look back at the dead wurm as she flew back across the roof of the building, catching sight of Shizuka, who was forcing Rosa Chinensis back. Sachiko defended herself well against Rosa Canina's vicious attacks, but she retreated with every parry she made, giving ground step by reluctant step.

"Shizuka-sama. I admire your devotion to Sei-sama, for it reflects my own love for onee-sama. And indeed, I would've wanted to devote myself to Sei-sama too," whispered Yumi. She sneezed, and she rubbed her nose in embarrassment, wiping away the goo and globs of slime from the wurm. Her face hardening, she hurtled down towards Shizuka, not making a sound until she was making directly for Shizuka's turned back. Still fighting off Rosa Canina with her sword, Rosa Chinensis had already noticed Yumi's blinding careen, but she didn't say a word as the plunging Yumi suddenly roared and reached out her hand, catching the Pink Rose completely off-guard as her claws tore through that beige coat, shirt, bra and into her skin, flesh and bone. Without stopping, Yumi dug further, crunching into Shizuka's sternum –

"_I will eat your heart_," snarled Rosa Chinensis en bouton, wrenching, pulling, and ripping out that still bleeding organ from Rosa Canina. Out came the bleeding, weakly pulsing body part, still loosely attached to tendons and covered in crawling maggots. But this time, they couldn't regenerate the wounds of their owner. "That's the only way to stop a vampire of our caliber from returning to this world."

"Yumi!" cried Sachiko. "You – "

"I must!" screamed Yumi, as a stunned and agonized Shizuka tottered where she stood. "Onee-sama… I'd do anything for you. Anything. I'm your faithful undead servant. And I – " She stared at the throbbing organ in her hand, eyes shaking in disgust and fear. "For you, I'd do anything to destroy your enemies."

Sachiko seemed to understand. Closing her eyes, she grimaced and turned away as Yumi raised her trembling hand, which was covered in Shizuka's wriggling maggots. She was visibly shaking, but nothing would stop her from ending this. Eyes shut tightly, she screamed loudly to steel herself, shaking her arm and scattering away as many worms as she could, before sinking her fangs into the pulsing organ, tearing her sharp canines into the bleeding, raw offal and its pink tubes. She chewed feverishly at the slippery yet tough meat as she did her best to cram it into her mouth and esophagus, ignoring the taste and stench…

And forced herself to swallow.

"Yumi," groaned Sachiko, not seeing but hearing all too clearly. "This is too much." That her darling undead would do this to herself, to eat a fellow vampire's heart like an animal for the sake of serving Chinensis! Yumi stayed silent, but she forced herself to keep at it, to eat into the now still organ, chewing and gulping, pulling the vile meat into her throat and past her tongue. No maggots would be able to heal separated and digested pieces of the vital organ, and without a vessel with which to collect human blood, Shizuka knew her second death was certain. Her eyes began to fade in color, and she smiled as she fell to the ground. Her bleeding back slammed on the cobblestone.

"You beat my maggots and now you won't even let the worms inside me heal their master. I applaud you, Yumi-san. Truly, you'll make a fitting, final opponent for Sei-sama. Both of you, after all, are rather violent."

Yumi spat out a chewed up piece of the ruined organ from her bloodstained lips. She wanted to vomit. Her churning stomach couldn't finish this nauseating, evil meal, but it was enough that Shizuka's heart couldn't function anymore. "Shizuka-sama! Rosa Canina!" roared the vampire, staggering back. "Sei-sama is too cruel! She destroys everyone she touches!"

Rosa Canina's eyes closed, her long, pretty lashes draping over her like a funerary veil. "I was but a pawn in Sei-sama's great agenda. But I served her as I wanted to. To be valued by her, if only for a little while. And to have been fed blood from her very hand…"

Her operatic voice shuddered and then fell silent.

"There was no greater honor than to be simply noticed by that human woman."

* * *

Her own heart pounding in her ears, Yumi stared down at Shizuka's silent corpse. Rosa Canina had been nothing less than a loyal, devoted friend and servant to Sei. And now she was dead, discarded carelessly by the Admiral. Yumi dropped Shizuka's half-eaten heart, swaying groggily. "Sei-sama is just too cruel," she sniffled again.

"Are you alright, Yumi?" cried Sachiko, hurrying over to her.

Yumi held up a panicked hand, stopping her grande soeur. "I'm… I'm so sorry, onee-sama," she groaned, covering her mouth with her free palm. Her body was trembling. "Please, please, I beg you – look away."

She cried out again as she lurched, retched, and collapsed on all fours, vomiting in disgust at having forced herself to eat someone else's heart. Out came her undead bile, splashing out onto the road remarkably like human blood. She gagged and hurled uncontrollably, the full, hideous magnitude of what she had just force-fed herself finally hitting her.

"Aaagh. _Aaaaaaggh_."

She spewed, coughed, and choked on her vomitus, her damp hair draping down past her trembling lips. The gushing matter dashed her hands and fingers, staining Sachiko's hanging rosary. She regurgitated her stomach's waste even as she forced herself to retain and digest the sickening pieces of Shizuka's heart. With this, Rosa Canina would never regain immortality. But it had come at a heavy price. Sachiko watched in horror as the vampire continued to heave, gasping and moaning as she relieved herself of the repulsive act. She was crying, tears flowing past her clenched eyelids and down her cheeks.

"I'm pathetic, onee-sama," wept the Red bouton helplessly. "I can force your enemies to eat their own hearts, but I can barely force myself to eat someone else's…"

"I hate myself for doing this for you," snarled Sachiko, enraged beyond belief yet unable to tear her eyes away from the sorry sight. Sei's right-hand woman was defeated, but this hardly felt like a victory. It was unbearable, leaving their beloved home in this state to do battle. But they had no choice. She sheathed her sword inside her cane and ran to the kneeling undead, not even noticing the mess and sweeping her into her comforting hug. Yumi sobbed gratefully into Rosa Chinensis' shoulder as Sachiko clasped the back of her head, stroking her long hair supportively, reassuring her that nothing had changed, that she was a beautiful and wanted vampire, that she would never be disgusting or repulsive, because she had done an incredibly brave and difficult thing any other hunter would shun. "You should be proud of yourself, you marvelous bloodsucker. Chin up." Gazing at Yumi's ashamed face, she stroked her finger along the shaking creature's jaw, wiping away the blood and muck. It was then that she knew how viscerally she adored the undead girl.

Surely true love for a vampire meant the happy enthusiasm to clean up her filth.

Yumi breathed in deeply, calming her choked whimpers, and her hands held onto her onee-sama ever so thankfully. She buried her face into Sachiko's shoulder again, drying her remaining tears on that dark tailcoat.

The grande soeur's eyes glinted in vengeance. "An eye for an eye," she said quietly. "Our ruin has begun, but so has Sei's. She betrayed Emperor and Empire for just one vampire. I promise, beloved Nosferatu: I would gladly do the same for you."

The Admiral would pay. She would pay for wrecking their warm home and fireplace, for destroying their life in London, but most of all for inflicting so much pain on her Yumi.

"Let's go, Yumi. To Westminster! We will save my onee-sama, and slay that monster in human form."

* * *

_Ruins of Fish Street Hill_

Clad in her armor from Heaven, Rosa Gigantea raised her longsword, peering at the armored Countess and the thick blade she clutched in her gauntleted hands. The two Catholic crusaders – one the fresh hope of pious love, the other the ancient avatar of raven night, circled each other amidst the ruins around the Monument. Shimako's silver boots pressed into the bloody ground. "Come to me, heir to Sei's love," whispered Shiori, giving a rare, authentic smile. Her dark, kind eyes glimmered. "Sei-sama couldn't bring herself to do it, nor could her ancestors. Rei-sama and Yoshino-chan failed, as you can see by their spiked corpses here," she added, pointing up briefly at the cold carcasses of the Foetida cousins, which hung from two long spikes. "Perhaps you can, human: you who are the true White Rose. You gave Sei-sama a love that I couldn't. Can you kill me, too? Can you do what so many couldn't? Come and put an end to my dreams of this girl, Kubo Shiori. Save me, the Countess, from drowning in Satou Sei's eyes again! Beloved knight…"

Shimako glanced at the injured body of Noriko, which lay trembling on the pavement. The bodyguard was bleeding from a heavy wound on her stomach, an injury dealt by the Countess's blade. The initial impact between their weapons had been devastating: Shimako was flung away from the force of the Countess's longsword, but at least Noriko had cut through Shiori's breastplate. Even more importantly, she had even managed to slash past Shiori's helm, splitting the golden headpiece in half and spilling out the Countess's sinuous black locks. It was a step, if only a small one, but the Countess had quickly taken revenge, with a powerful, blindingly fast cut that bashed aside Noriko's light ninja armor and left her in this incapacitated state. Shimako blamed herself: her bouton had paid a price for Shimako's carelessness.

"Shimako-san…" The furious Noriko trembled silently, hating herself for her weakness. Her red _hannya_ mask had been shattered in half, lying in two pieces beside her. "I'll be right back up before you know it."

Rosa Gigantea stared at the waiting Countess. This would be her first and last battle with her demonic opposite. This was literally the final fantasy, the fantasy to end all others. "I don't know if I can do what you ask of me, Shiori-sama… no, Your Excellency, Countess of all night-kin," she admitted, her heart pounding. If she were honest with herself, she was actually afraid. She didn't want to die. She wanted to take care of Noriko. She wanted to go home. But all her fears would mean nothing if Sei and Shiori won the day, or if Noriko died. "Perhaps I should take my duty of dispelling onee-sama's madness more seriously. But you hurt my chick, crushing her wings. That is reason enough for me to topple you."

"Shimako-san! Don't let her fool you!" cried Noriko. "She's using more than just physical power to draw us into her spell!"

"Hush, sweet love. I'm well aware of that. But if I am to defend you, I can't hesitate. Just rest for now, and regain your strength." Without any more words, the Lillian paladin hurled herself at Shiori, her greaves thundering across the sundered ground. The Countess raised her blade ever so slightly, before swinging it in a powerful arc to block Shimako's overhead attack. Black fire and white flame erupted from the impact of their swords, crackling and bursting into the air and dancing into the dawn sky as Shimako slashed at the Countess again, who parried, and the blades howled against each other, the shrieking impact shattering the windows of the buildings around them. "Incredible, angelic warrior," whispered the Countess, before pushing Shimako back. The latter clenched her jaw, the soles of her greaves skidding along the bloody cobblestone. "Your training is astonishing. Sei-sama has made you the perfect counter to me. Even in her insanity, she saw that her heir needed to be the trump card that could match me. _The future must be strong enough to lay the past to rest_!"

Shimako raised her sword, gripping its handle so tightly she thought it would break. She slammed her greave into the ground and swung her longsword again, and its edge sliced into the Countess's flank armor. But as Rosa Gigantea attempted to renew her attack, the Countess swung her gauntlet into Shimako's head, smashing against her helmet and sending the White Rose staggering back. "Shimako-san…" Noriko crawled along the ground as Shimako was forced back further with each step that Shiori made. The latter's eyes glowed crimson as she smashed her sword again and again on Shimako's raised dented blade. Shimako felt her arms growing weaker and weaker as Shiori raised her sword once more, bringing it down in an unstoppable swing. The White bouton screamed as Shimako barely dodged, counterattacking with a horizontal attack as she staggered to one side. They lifted their blades again, and a light gash bled across the Countess's cheek.

But Shimako's helm had been cut almost cleanly through, and blood was pouring from the top of her head.

"As I suspected," whispered the Countess, as her wound sealed up and left only dry blood. "You have the power of angels, but underneath that divine armor you are still human."

She turned around, narrowing her eyes as Noriko's desperate form leaped at her, her short sword high above her head. "_Diiiiiee_!" shrieked the ninja –

But her injured body was too slow. Shiori raised her hand again, her metal gauntlet bashing into Noriko's nose, crumpling her shocked face inwards and sending her flying back several yards and landing into a pile of rubble near the Monument. Something inside Rosa Gigantea snapped at seeing her petite soeur so horrifically injured, and a sphere of pure light erupted around her, with all her platinum armor dissolving into that orb of light encasing her small body. Soon, her wide, angry eyes also disappeared with the rest of her form, and there was only light, a serpentine, living sunbeam that loomed over Shiori.

"At last, out of anger you've revealed your true form," whispered Sei's eternal lover. "Then let me show you mine. Show me how you'll erase my presence. I'm curious… so very curious."

Ebony and crimson fire erupted from the Countess's hair, the roaring flames engulfing her entire armored body. Beginning with her head, the fire rapidly swallowed up her longsword and devoured her skinny frame. Soon, the astonished Noriko was bearing witness to a chiaroscuro – a contrast of opposites – between a divine ray of light and a writhing, twisting faceless mass of hellish darkness. This was no longer merely physical, but metaphysical – a brawl between past and future, a war between Heaven's higher moral order and the vampire world's gospel of bloodlust. The ninja wiped at the blood below her broken nose, barely believing her eyes. Shiori was gone; the Countess's physical body had disappeared completely. Nor could Shimako be seen, and before Noriko could yell her name, the pure light and cosmic darkness hurtled at and crashed into each other. A deafening, dazzling explosion blinded Noriko, and she could only shield her face as blast after blast rocked Fish Street Hill, shaking what little remained of the buildings and threatening to dislodge the very Monument itself. The white light – Rosa Gigantea – shot up into the early morning sky, followed closely by the black nova. High up, they twisted and collided with each other again, separating in a screech, before ramming into one another a third, fourth and fifth time. Such a stunning, apocalyptic display of power could only last so long, and as Noriko leaned against a slab of broken concrete, clutching her bleeding stomach and regaining her strength, she could see the black light retreating. The white light was descending back down from the sky, shooting one final time at the darkness. The constellation of infernal ebony swirled around Shimako's brilliance and met her collision head-on, blinding Noriko with another shrieking, cataclysmic explosion of light and dark particles. Like stardust, slivers of day and night were falling to the earth in the aftermath, covering London in the snowflakes of Heaven and Hell. They were fragments of time, flecks and shavings of celestial and damned love.

Noriko looked up, staring at the scorched battlefield that was the sky.

The Countess's body – it was gone. The black light had completely vanished, too.

Could it be – ?

While that was cause for hope, great hope indeed – something far more horrifying and distressing could be glimpsed. It was Shimako's body – what remained of her divine armour had shattered, exposing her broken, limp form, and without any support, the barely conscious White Rose simply plummeted back several dozen feet back to the Monument, and Noriko scrambled up to catch her. Ignoring the pain in her abdomen and face, the ninja did what she did best and ran to protect her senior, leaping into position and bracing her knees. She reached out her arms as Shimako fell directly toward her. "If the Countess has really been defeated," whispered Noriko to herself, "then Shimako-san's done the impossible. There's no way… no way we're dying here. Victory is ours!"

Shimako fell into Noriko's arms, the velocity of the plummet sending Noriko crashing back to the ground. What mattered was that Rosa Gigantea had been saved from the backbreaking fall. "Shimako-san, you did it!" Recovering, Noriko looked at the wheezing grande soeur she had caught. What she could see horrified her, making her stop short of any triumphant proclamation. For Rosa Gigantea's torso and midsection had been completely blown away, her destroyed internal organs held together only by the exposed sinew of muscles that were rapidly losing strength. Except for her face and naked limbs, her living carcass wasn't even recognizable as a functioning human being.

Shimako's voice was sad. "I'm sorry, onee-sama. I couldn't save you with my own hands. It seems the distance between us remains as great as ever…"

* * *

Refusing to panic, Noriko began to rise to her feet again. "I'm taking you to the Royal Hospital – "

Eyes barely open, Shimako shook her head, blood pouring openly from her weakly beating heart, her struggling lungs, and her split liver and intestines. The ground below the couple was already a sea of Shimako's red gore. Nothing inside her was working – it could all be gruesomely seen. But she still could shake her head. "I'm not surprised at all," mumbled the heroine. "I expected nothing less from this fight against that queen of undead. The price would be steep – I was prepared for that. But the way to our future is now clear. As long as the bouton lives, there is a future. As long as the petite soeur breathes, there is a future."

"No," whispered Noriko, not realizing that she was crying. "There's no future without you."

Shimako smiled fondly. "If a grande soeur dies for her bouton, that bouton becomes the White Rose. Not the other way round…" Her hand, once touching Noriko's lightly, went as limp as her bloodsoaked mop of hair. "You survived the Countess's wrath. My greatest hope has been fulfilled. You must return home, Noriko, and rebuild our White guild. Help everyone else who survives this to rebuild. For you're now Rosa Gigantea."

"You were everything. You're still everything," wept Noriko. "What happened to our nest? I promised you I'd be there."

Shimako stared up at her weeping bodyguard as the black and white snowflakes continued to fall around them, onto the corpses of the vampires and ghouls. "I love you so much, Noriko," whispered the dying White Rose happily. "My nest is wherever you are. I'll be watching over you. Until the end of time."

She closed her eyes, her final words no longer audible. "I… go home… under the _sakura_ tree… under their blossoms… where I met onee-sama… and _you_."

Speechless, her injuries forgotten, the bloodstained Noriko could only cradle Shimako's lifeless body tenderly, massaging her thumb over her cheek helplessly, kissing her shut eyelid, sobbing in woe and misery.

Rosa Gigantea was no more.

Shiori too, had mysteriously disappeared.

Neither Sei's past nor her future existed.

There was only the present: a final battle between the survivors, here and now.

* * *

The abbey of Westminster was no longer a church. It had become a durance, a prison, and as such it was dank and cold, its stench revolting. Nothing had changed around her – the altar of the Henry VII Lady Chapel was still in ruins, and Shiori's coffin had been removed. The Countess herself was nowhere to be seen. Isolated far at the west wing, with her black blouse torn off, Youko lay spread eagled, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as Sei quietly kissed her neck. Her bare legs were spread, her hips cold from the stone floor. Her wrists were still bleeding from her struggles against the enchanted chains that nullified her witch's powers. Was this the price she had paid for being Sei's best friend, for having shared all her weaknesses with the traitor?

"This is it. This is what I wanted. What we wanted." The Admiral's expression was deliriously triumphant as her fingers slipped inside the witch. It wasn't as pleasurable as Youko had at times fantasized – but of course, it was impossible to enjoy even Sei's cold, cruel love when all she could think about were her petite soeurs, Sachiko and Yumi. She knew Sei literally couldn't care less about Shimako and Noriko. All the Admiral had to do with those she wasn't interested in was throw the Countess's power at them.

The Foetida guild was doomed from the outset. And to think of Shimako and Noriko, who fought so grimly but were so casually tossed aside by Sei's hand, was heartbreaking.

"They're coming for us," noted Sei quietly, kissing Youko again and again as her hands massaged her breasts. "Yumi-chan and Sachiko. They're going to rescue you."

"You still haven't learned your lesson? Even after all that Shiori put you through." Youko lowered her head. "But perhaps I was too naïve. Too childish and hopeful to think you could get over anything," she whispered. "For what happened two years ago, you've despised me… and I thought you _never appreciated me_?" She snickered pitifully. "I wasn't even close."

"Baddies are supposed to look bad, aren't they? I captured you just wanted you to see how strong my bond with Shiori is. Even if I never wanted it to be."

Youko's shimmering eyes met those grey irises, which were at once evil, hateful, benevolent, and regretful. "You've thrown away everything. Even Shimako-chan. Perhaps even Shiori-san."

"I could sense her death, her disappearance into the heavenly _aether_. Her vanishing from my heart was crystal-clear. Don't think I felt nothing. I'll never forget Shimako," whispered Sei. "Never. Call me whatever you like, but I _will_ remember her, and I will call her name if it's my fate to die here."

Youko let out a dark chuckle. "Then surely you can sense Shiori-san has also disappeared."

Sei's eyes narrowed. "She is eternal. Or at least the Countess is. And that's good enough."

The sorceress stared up at Sei reproachfully. "In that warm cave two years ago… what I said in front of that fire… it still stands today."

"I know. I remember. You'll be my support until the end of time." She pursed her lips. "And I mean it when I say: thank you."

"I love you, Sei. But I promise you: you _will_ regret your treachery."

"I already do, Youko. But _my_ promise lies with my family's unholy destiny with Shiori. You tried to sever that link, but that connection can never be broken. And that's the difference between our love. Tell me, Youko. Is our sisterhood dead?" The traitor's eyes glimmered in acceptance that it might well be.

"I should say yes. But no. No matter what you do, Sei… you are tied to each one of us. The soeur bond is sacred, and no matter how it's violated, it will emerge victorious. I promise you – we _will_ defeat you even as we proclaim our love for you."

"A quirky claim," chuckled the human leader of the vampires, and for the first time, she and Youko shared a sincere, bittersweet laugh. Sei kissed the witch one more time, with neither able to completely let go of the affection that once bound them. It still hung by a tiny thread now, despite Sei's insanity. The traitor Admiral gently rose from Youko. "I'm off to the east wing. Sachiko will definitely be coming to save you, and Yumi-chan will surely be coming for me. It's going to be a bombastic battle, you know: that sweet vampire, heir to the Chinensis, against me, this pitiful excuse for a human being who was once the glorious Rosa Gigantea. And the delicious twist? I love Yumi, and I know she loves me."

She smiled as she slowly walked away from the helpless, bound witch.

"Wait for me, Youko. Wait for my return, if my gun can defeat Yumi-chan's wrath. And we'll relive that Christmas night, when I snuggled with you in that cave on the Carpathian Mountains."

* * *

**Nosferatu Yumi-chan versus Admiral Sei-sama.**

**The final resolution of Sei and Shiori's curse.**

**Yumi and Sachiko now make their last stand against the Forest of Thorns at Westminster.  
**

**All to be concluded in Chapter 10!**


	10. Her Love is Eternal

**Chapter 10**

**Her Love is Eternal  
**

* * *

Welcome back to the years 1902 – 1903.

This is the concluding chapter of my Marimite vampire fanfic. Our sweet heroine is an undead, bravely and devotedly following her human mistress to fight a human girl who loved the mother of vampire-kind. The soeur huntresses are falling all around us as London and the world shudders from Sei's assault on Creation. Sachiko scrambles to save her grande soeur, Youko, and the story reaches its bloody crescendo and vicious climax as Yumi finally confronts her idol – and nemesis – in Westminster Abbey.

Thanks for giving my fanfic a chance. When I bid farewell in my last Mafia fanfic, I was being a bit cheeky, because I had already started planning a story where everyone's favorite Sei would be the main and final villain. *evil smile* I hope you liked her debut as an actual antagonist to be feared. I'm very happy to have managed a vampire story with Sachiko x Yumi as the focus… even as so many things unfolded around them in this historical-fantasy AU.

This fanfic would never have started or finished without your encouragement, support, critiques and feedback. Thank you. Please keep in touch, because I'm always around reading other authors' fanfics. I hold nothing back and pull out all the stops in this last chapter – I hope you enjoy it!

Until next time! \(^o^)/

* * *

"It was long before the terror of recent events subsided; and to this hour the image of Carmilla returns to memory with ambiguous alternations – sometimes the playful, languid, beautiful girl; sometimes the writhing fiend I saw in the ruined church; and often from a reverie I have started, fancying I heard the light step of Carmilla at the drawing room door."

– _Carmilla_, "Conclusion"

* * *

_Westminster Abbey, west wing_

It was early morning and just prior to daybreak.

Sachiko's explosives blew apart a section in the Abbey's wall, and the Chinensis huntress kicked her heeled boot against a stubborn stone, sending it tumbling away. Her uniform was already stained with the gore of vampires she had dispatched on the streets earlier. She had allowed Yumi to go her own way, to fly to Westminster, while she had taken the opportunity to cleanse London's roads of Shiori's wandering undead. Shimako's sacrifice had put an early halt to the Countess's full-scale invasion, but it wouldn't be long before Sei attempted another assault with her own imperial troops.

Rosa Chinensis ran into the vast church hall, not bothering to admire the yawning, unholy ambience. She drew her sword as she laid her eyes on a large phalanx of uniformed British imperial soldiers, blood and ink pouring from their evil eyes as they blocked her way. Snarling and sneering, the burly undead aimed their rifles at her, their bayonet tips pointing menacingly at her. For her part, she simply kept a steady grip on Flower Stalk, turning the blade of her swordstick carefully as she stared back at the waiting vampires.

Sei was throwing everything she had at her.

Sachiko thrust her hand into her coat pocket and whipped out a miniature explosive. She threw it in front of her just as the vampires fired their rifles, and the exploding bomb enveloped her in a cloud of holy gas. Feeling three of the bullets graze her shoulders and one penetrating into he bicep, she nevertheless sprinted out of the smoke, her body enveloped in gaseous holy water. Eyes shining, she raised Flower Stalk, gazing at the alarmed faces of the shoulders. They reloaded to fire again, but Sachiko fell upon them like a tornado, and soon they were forced to engage her at her best: with blades. They surrounded the Red Rose and thrust their bayonets together at her, but now it was Sachiko's turn to counter their attack with gunpowder, and she whipped out her handgun, Vermillion. Firing off four quick shots at point-black range, a quartet of helmeted, undead heads exploded and she pivoted, swinging her sword and severing the legs of five more soldiers. They dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, screaming and writhing. "You bitch – you mere human!" roared another undead in the regiment, firing into Sachiko's already wounded shoulder. The huntress felt bone break as the bullet lodged itself inside, and blood seeped into her tailcoat's fabric. Encouraged by her wincing, agonized face, the other vampires grinned and prepared to finish their enemy, lining up their rifles at her like a firing squad does for a convict.

"You really thought you could take us all on, slut?" barked an English soldier in mockery, and his comrades chortled cruelly.

Blood trickling from her lip, Sachiko smiled as she remembered Yumi's smiling face. "My precious vampire, a creature more precious than any undead or human."

"What are you blabbering about, madwoman?" snarled another British officer.

The silver, ornate rose at the end of Flower Stalk's hilt suddenly hissed and clicked, sliding loose. Shifting, Sachiko grabbed the seemingly decorative adornment and pulled, starting a spark that ignited the hidden fuse encased inside the handle. She made a run for it, her boots just managing to evade the hail of bullets from the soldiers. But this was her final wager. This silver explosive, this hissing grenade disguised as a vain aesthetic.

"_Rose Bomb_."

She threw the silver rose at the unsuspecting vampires, and even as they continued to aim and fire complacently at her, the Rose Bomb detonated before the remaining phalanx. Even their screams were inaudible as a roar swept through the abbey. A blinding light engulfed the sanctum. A concentrated explosion of holy fire, silver shrapnel and incendiary powder engulfed the vampires' body parts. The few that were still staggering about, clutched at their melting faces or alight bodies. Some were moaning in hatred, others in rage that they had been deceived, others in fear at the power of the Rose Bomb. It didn't matter either way. Blood dripping from her wounds, Rosa Chinensis stepped past the vampires' corpses and moaning bodies, deliberately walking over a twitching hand and crushing its crying owner's fingers. She slashed aside the pew seats that lay behind the annihilated phalanx, calling out her onee-sama's name. "Where are you?" she shouted, her voice echoing through the sanctuary with the hissing, sizzling flames of her Rose Bomb.

Still bound in the enchanted chains that countered her telepathy, Mizuno Youko was far from drowsy or asleep, listening carefully to the pandemonium. "Who's there?" she growled. "Sachiko?"

At last, the Red Rose saw her, chained to the floor beneath a nightmarish pentagram. At last, they were reunited after months of agony at the Admiral's treachery. Sachiko put a finger to her lips as her pace quickened, and she hurried to her senior's side, raising her sword. Her heart pounded even more painfully than when she had confronted the imperial vampires. "Onee-sama. I'm here to rescue you."

"Sachiko!" whispered Youko in tremendous relief and gratitude, looking up at her former bouton proudly. Three flawless strokes, and the enchanted chains were cut apart, and Sachiko bent down and scooped up the witch, embracing her tightly, stroking back her cropped, grimy hair. Her arms shook as she clutched at her senior's stripped body, covered only by her cloak. She suddenly didn't know what to think; this was so sudden, so abrupt. "Onee-sama. I was so afraid you'd be dead. That Sei-sama would defile your body like this…"

"Come now, my rescuer," replied Youko, patting Sachiko's back patiently. "We can't have you blubbering over me. You're the Red Rose, remember? I'm just a humble witch." She pulled back, looking into Rosa Chinensis' eyes. "And besides, we have more important priorities. First, we must find my wand. Sei's hidden it somewhere, and I'll need it. Where are the others? Where are the Foetida and Gigantea guilds?"

Sachiko's eyes shone. "We never heard back from Eriko-sama, Rei or Yoshino-chan, and communication with Shimako and Noriko-chan has been severed. We can only assume the worst."

Youko lowered her head. "I see." Silence passed between them for several moments. "So Sei has managed to wreak that much destruction."

She looked at Sachiko; her eyes wet with unshed tears.

"My petite soeur. It's time to end the curse of the Forest of Thorns before it kills any more innocents… before it devours Creation. Have you steeled your resolve? Have you accepted that…" She visibly trembled, gulping. "That the real source of the curse doesn't even lie with the Countess, but with Sei herself?"

Rosa Chinensis slowly nodded. "Then let's go, onee-sama. I'll help you right the wrong you committed three years ago."

* * *

The vampire Yumi hurtled through the sky and clouds, plummeting only when she saw the beautiful spires of the great church. She steeled herself, bracing for impact, and punched through the ceiling of the Henry VII Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey. She flew past the sundered, crumbling stone and into the yawning interior architecture, her dismal irises focused on the standing form below her. Leaning against the half-destroyed altar from which she had unsealed Shiori's tomb, Sei opened her eyes only when she felt the wind from Yumi's flight blow at her clothes. She pulled at her military coat, its left breastpocket decked with prestigious badges, and it fell to the ground. Her white shirt was brightened by the momentary pillar of dark light filtering through the new hole in the ceiling.

Surrounded by squealing, fluttering bats, the Chinensis vampire hovered before the waiting Sei before landing on the ground, her black butler's shoes touching the tiles. Her long brown hair draped past her black vest, in front of which dangled Sachiko's silver rosary.

They stared at each other for several minutes, with Sei giving a small smile as she waited in front of the altar from which she had freed the Countess. It seemed only yesterday that Yumi had seen Sei, at the church where she had betrayed them all and at Sachiko's apartment, where they had celebrated her birthday on Christmas Eve.

"I've had many good memories serving my country and Lillian College," murmured the former White Rose. "Warm, happy memories… but painful ones too. It's just too bad that it was only after I left school that I met you. I told you a long time ago – your absence was one of my greatest regrets."

She smiled. "Yumi-chan. You look lovely in a waiter's suit."

She slowly opened her arms, and without a word, Yumi rushed to the traitor who was holding London hostage and gave her a reproachful, fiery hug. Wrapped in the intimate embrace, Sei closed her eyes as she returned the vampire's unhappy cuddle. "Do you hate me, Yumi-chan? For all I've done, I wouldn't blame you if you did. I count myself lucky that you'd even want to look at my face again."

"I don't hate you," said the undead honestly, staring at nothing as she clutched Sei to her tighter. "I'll never hate you. To me, you're still a superstar. I wanted to see you again, Sei-sama."

"I wanted to see you too. But… I never thought that you'd be the ones to try and stop me," chuckled Sei. "Don't you know? Only the Satou family has ever been able to defeat Shiori. It has been that way since my ancestors."

"Then why did Shiori survive all the centuries?" Yumi stared up into Sei's eyes, even as they remained in their embrace. "You're a liar and you know it. Shiori has endured because the only women strong enough to hunt her down and defeat her – _your_ family's women – loved her too much to kill her. They locked her up. They imprisoned her. They hid her body deep in the earth or in the most secret of crypts. But they _spared_ her. Your family did anything to keep the world safe whilst nurturing this unholy love for the queen of the undead. You may have started out as mighty vampire hunters, but in reality you were the closest collaborators with the greatest vampire of all. Genius, really."

"Is it that much different from you and Sachiko, a human-vampire relationship?" demanded Sei defensively. "Are you going to deny me what my grandmother enjoyed? Shiori's lips? Her smile? Her blessings, unholy as they are?"

"I'm saying that I love you, Sei-sama. I don't want to see you hurting the world for Shiori anymore. So I will do my utmost to defeat you." It hurt to say these words to her idol. "You murdered Eriko-sama… the Foetida guild… and even Shimako-san… because you couldn't admit that you're weaker than all of them. I'm going to avenge them."

"You're incredible, Yumi-chan. Really, you are." Yumi felt her archenemy running gentle, tender fingers through her loosened hair. It was as if nothing had changed since Christmas last year. Sei seemed painfully aware of what she had forced her loved ones to do. "So beautiful. You're a true princess of the night. I really, really don't deserve death by your hand. It would dirty those cute claws of yours."

Yumi slowly, reluctantly stepped back several metres, the feel of Sei's warm hands still fresh around her waist. The Admiral reached for the sheathed swords at her waist's belt and drew them, revealing a pair of long fencing sabres. They left their scabbards with a cold, metallic hiss. "Still, you love me so much that you're planning to kick my arse. Kinky of you, Yumi-chan," she joked.

Even now, at the end of the world, Sei was still Sei. "You were the one who taught me love comes in many forms," growled the vampire, her trembling lip hardening.

Yumi, the new darkness who lived by the light, stared down Sei, the old light who had lost herself in darkness. The heir to eventide now made a final stand against her forebear of dayspring.

The future cast against the legacy.

Shadow cast against shadow.

_Winner take all_!

* * *

Her legs springing into action, Yumi roared and ran back at Sei, catching her by the wrists roughly. Sei blinked in impressed surprise as Yumi's supernatural strength forced her to twist away from the altar and retreat all the way against the wall. Sei's boots skidded along the floor until her back slammed against the stone. She grunted in pain but Yumi refused to listen to her own crying heart, gripping on tighter instead. "The Countess's mad reign ended at Shimako-san's hands, Sei-sama. And yours will end at mine!"

Sei looked down, bemused. "Don't hold back, okay?" she whispered. "My sweet Yumi."

"I'll try," growled Yumi. "My beloved Sei-sama."

In the nanosecond after she had finished her reply, she felt Sei's boot kicking into her stomach, and the lightning attack sent her hurling back and sprawling along the abbey floor. "Oof – " She gasped in shock as she rolled to a painful stop, planting her hand hard on the ground. Despite being a human and physically weaker than vampires, Sei was a seasoned veteran hunter and had trained her body to incredible levels that easily surpassed even Sachiko. She was now quickly on the offensive, running, spinning and slashing at Yumi's arms as she shouted out a bloodcurdling battleroar. Her short hair mussed up, the Admiral's eyes had turned stern, and Yumi was briefly caught off-guard as she raised her arms to block. Her claws clanged loudly, again and again, against the whirlwind of twin blades that danced to Sei's assault. Her hands shook uncontrollably, and her fingers spurted out blood from the rapidly accumulating cuts. Gore trickled down her stinging arms, but they wouldn't heal as quickly as they usually did.

_Blessed blades_!

Eyes glinting, flicking back one of her swords, Sei bellowed out another intimidating, unnerving warcry as her sword drew a thin line of blood from Yumi's midsection. Rattled, Yumi realized that she had never seen her mentor figure in serious combat before. Yes, it was true she had seen Sei betray them and shoot Eriko, but even then Sei hadn't showed off her swordplay, or the side that earned her the rank of Admiral. _This_ military, colonial, imperialist Sei, this bloodthirsty, war-hardened Sei with a calm yet remorseless killing intent, was totally different. She was surprisingly more frightening than any howling vampire. _Genius strategy, cold charm, and pure violence… I was still so ignorant about someone I admired so much_, decided Yumi in dread, dodging one of Sei's swords narrowly, before feeling the other clang loudly against her raised claws. She flew back from the force, almost falling to the ground again.

She never imagined how… _overpowering_… an angry Sei could be. She never even fathomed what she could be like – perhaps only Youko and Shimako had ever known. Did _anyone_ ever actually try to imagine what a physically hostile Sei would be like? For _this_ was what she was like against her enemies. She was exactly the same as she was three years ago, in 1900, when she fought on behalf of the Emperor against Shiori's Austro-Hungarian cavalry.

Terrifying.

Dread Lady.

Nothing like anything you've ever seen before.

Yet, ironically, just a human girl.

"Fight back, vampire. I told you not to hold back against me," growled the fallen heroine, her voice husky and fierce. She swung down her sword, and Yumi hastily dissolved into mist, dispersing into the cool atmosphere of the chapel. Sei's blade cut into the ground instead, denting it. The mist slammed into the church floor behind her and reformed into Yumi's physical body. She sprinted at Sei and pounced, but her arms were blocked by Sei's sword. "Don't be afraid of killing me. I never taught or trained you, but I'll always love you, so be brave," insisted the traitor, her sword grinding against Yumi's hands.

"Stop speaking like that!" cried a truly intimidated Yumi. "You're saying all this just to weaken me."

"I mean every word, girl," barked Sei, even as she suddenly bent her knees and slashed at Yumi's legs. Yumi staggered back, confused and hurt. "Do I look like I'm lying to you? _Do I_?" shouted the greatest opponent any soeur could face, as the walls of the chapel were blown apart, masonry crumbling to the floor and loose pieces of stone and marble shooting from the epicentre of the blast. Yumi covered her hands briefly, glimpsing vampiric soldiers that ran at her. "Undead infantry!" yelled Sei, looking around briefly to give commands to her remaining forces. "Support me. Fire at Yumi-chan!"

They bared their fangs, roaring in obedience.

Lining up briskly and forming a square, the helmed British soldiers raised and aimed their rifles, and Yumi bent her knees in preparation as they fired. Her heightened reflexes allowed her to twist and weave and bob through almost every bullet that hurtled at her, but an unlucky stray projectile managed to shoot through her wrist, and she stared down in shock and pain. The gaping wound, this hole in her hand, wasn't closing up at all. "Ah… ah…"

Sei raised one of her swords and pointed it at the petite soeur, smiling grimly. "Shiori's vampires, armed with anti-undead ordnance courtesy of my authority. I bet you've never fought undead using my munitions, have you? Yumi-chan."

Scared and enraged, Yumi let out an instinctual, sharp scream and lunged at the soldiers, the tiles of the abbey darkening as the vampire's telepathy uprooted them and sent the flying marble hurtling at the soldiers. "Get out of my way!" she screamed in warning. Several of the hostile undead felt their heads crushed as the stone tiles smashed into their noses and skulls. Yumi twisted and gestured violently with her hands, and her magical telekinesis hurled the loose tiles through the bodies of the remaining soldiers, punching cleanly past their torsos and reddening the air with clouds of spraying blood. As the infantry fell, gurgling, Yumi stomped her black shoe into the ground, and a black cloud began to spread underneath her. Tentacles of black magic shot from the pool of dark ink and slithered at Sei, who reacted quickly and cut apart a dark tendril with her sword. She leaped into the air, twisting her upper body gracefully, slicing apart another tentacle and deflecting another black arm with a flick. But soon Yumi's countless ebony tendrils had caught up with her, and she looked slightly alarmed as the raven-colored pool expanded directly underneath her feet. The tendrils surrounded her, rising high above her head, and fused together to form a pitch-black dome that encased the Admiral completely.

Yumi shouted in triumph as she clenched her fists. "Forgive me, Sei-sama," she bellowed, as she clicked her fingers and set off her necromantic trap.

Sei's eyes, for the first time, widened in impressed shock.

"Fuckshit."

The massive explosion rocked the abbey, engulfing Sei in hateful black flames and burning away at her as she disappeared into a conflagration of shadowy fire. The dome was no more, having self-destructed at the Chinensis vampire's command. Dismissing her hellish tendrils, Yumi stared at the flames intently as the sizzling quietened and the clouds slowly dissipated to reveal her target.

What she saw made her face blush furiously.

Blood dripping from her head and dishevelled short hair, the sexy Sei grinned at Yumi, her upper body fully exposed except for her black lace bra, and even that was slightly torn. The remaining wisps of her white shirt drifted away from her slender, pale arms and torso. It was extraordinary that she could actually seal the implosion with her bare hands, preventing her vitals from being damaged. She was truly a unique human fighter. Yumi stared, throat dry at seeing Sei's half-nakedness in the midst of the hissing black fire. Her slim midsection, her perfect and modest cleavage, those lean but tight, well-trained muscles, curvy and protective shoulders… thank God she still had her trousers and black shoes.

She purred at Yumi, licking her lips as she threw away her broken sabres, which had been cleanly snapped in half.

"Hit me again, my baby."

Yumi roared in confused bloodlust and primal desire as she ran at Sei, slashing at her with her claws. She swiped at Sei's head, only to be blocked by a tight parry from Sei's forearm. The Admiral's vicious left jab snapped out from her shoulder like a coiled spring, catching even Yumi's vampiric senses off-guard. Dazed at the smooth but merciless contact of Sei's skin and knuckles, Yumi blocked with her forearm as Sei swung a tight uppercut into her ribs, before slipping past the vampire's wild swing and sending a twisting right cross into her chin. The extraordinary force of the punch broke Yumi's jaw, and the roaring Sei grabbed Yumi's shoulders, yanking her towards her and hurling her several yards in the other direction. A flabbergasted Yumi crashed into the wall, crumpling as she landed amidst a pile of broken stone and glass.

"Surely you didn't think the Admiral of the Japanese Empire forgot to practice judo and boxing against creatures ten times stronger than her, did you?" chuckled Sei, as Yumi struggled to a kneeling position, gasping from her broken ribs. "Do you think I'd ever have stood a chance against you without all my cunning and skill, sweet vampire? You'd rip me apart and I'd be helpless to stop you. I wouldn't mind that – but I'm supposed to be fighting you, so…" She cracked her knuckles. "A military girl has to be prepared for everything."

Recovering from the hand-to-hand combat, Yumi stared at Sei angrily. She bared her fangs, growling, before slamming her palm into the ground. More dark tendrils shot from her toward the waiting Admiral –

An unexpected flurry of gunshots pierced into the swirling tentacles and tore them apart. Yumi blinked in confused surprise, before screaming in pain as a sharp nail of thorn blasted past her other hand, exposing bone and muscle tendons. She couldn't regenerate it. Her body literally refused to heal from that thorn.

"_Forest of Thorns_." Sei raised the legendary huntress's revolver, licking her lips. Yumi stared in wordless fear as the Admiral pointed the silver handgun at her. "It was built by my own hand, and armed with Youko's replicas of the thorns from Christ's crown, which Noriko-chan stole from Rome. It's a living expression of divine hate, the greatest anti-vampire weapon ever. I used you all to craft me the perfect armament. It's a fitting handgun for me, Youko, and I thank you!" she cried at no one, her insane eyes glimmering.

The Red bouton screamed in furious desperation and charged, no longer caring whether she lived or died, for Sei might as well have signed the vampire's death warrant. The former White Rose raised the barrel of the pistol, and from its dark tunnel erupted the final judgement of the Savior. Yumi's body suddenly dissipated and separated into two funnels of smoke. She would try to surround Sei in mist before falling upon her and pinning her into a lock. But then, the unthinkable happened. The thorn bullet shot through her gaseous body – and she actually felt pain. No. No, this was impossible, she thought, as the thorns stabbed into her shoulder and thigh. Forced to return to her solid form, she fell to the ground and sprawled along the stone floor painfully. "You really think you can hide from God's hatred just by turning into mist, Yumi-chan?" crowed the human, gazing at the vampire's bloodstained suit. "If even I couldn't escape God's damnation, then no undead can flee the wrath of Christ's thorns. No one escapes the firepower from this revolver."

Yumi scrambled up, refusing to listen to her screaming nerves, and dashed at Sei again. "What will you do, Yumi-chan, you sweet little Nosferatu? I'm right here. Come and get me. Come and ravish me." Sei fired three shots at Yumi's head, and forced to block, Yumi raised her arms, allowing the thorns to sink painfully into her forearms. Sei grinned wildly, firing one more time and blowing apart Yumi's elbow. Ignoring the agony, Rosa Chinensis en bouton gritted her teeth as she summoned a tidal wave of supernatural tendrils from the ground, slashing wildly at Sei's arm. But Sei leaped back, shooting a thorn into the ground. Yumi was hurled back as the ground rumbled loudly; giving way to a horde of green vines that erupted toward Yumi's tendrils. Yumi gasped as the bristling, hairy vines cut into her own tentacles and dispelled them, before shooting down at her. She clawed wildly at the descending plantation, but she couldn't fight back as their supernatural grip tightened around her wrists, her shoulders and her knees, lifting her up and suspending her struggling body. A single vine coiled itself around her hair and wheezing neck and squeezed. The thrashing Yumi groaned, her pupils rolling back briefly as she struggled to breathe. She choked and gasped in panic as the tendril tightened itself further around her hanging rosary and jugular. The church, the entire world, briefly went dark.

_I… I can't do it. I can't win. Sei-sama is too powerful!_

_I… I'm blacking out_…

Suddenly, however, the rough plant loosened. "It's over, my darling." Westminster Abbey was suddenly quiet. Seemingly satisfied by Yumi's immobility, the half-naked Admiral slowly walked forward, her eyes calm as they rested on Yumi's limp body and bleeding wounds. "You were amazing, Yumi-chan." She smiled as she stopped before the helpless, wounded undead. "Truly, utterly breathtaking."

"Sei-sama…" Tears slipped down the bound and defeated vampire's face. "Please come back," she implored suddenly, in a last-ditch attempt. She gazed at the woman she once admired so. "We need you, Sei-sama. I miss you. I miss you so much!"

"Yumi…" murmured Sei, her hand still gripping the handle of her gun. She avoided Yumi's reproachful eyes, who was blubbering, her resolve broken, her powers sealed away by the vines. But her heart still beat, and it still bled for the fallen huntress.

"Sei-sama! I love you. I care for you, more deeply than you know. If… if you have even a shred of fondness for the memories you shared with us…"

Sei suddenly brightened. "How about a kiss after such a… violent reunion?" she proposed, completely randomly and out of the blue. She adjusted her bra strap, grinning at the undead girl. "Surely that can bring comfort to the both of us."

"Wh – wh – what?" sputtered Yumi, struggling and blushing as Sei's free hand rose and touched her cheek. What was going on? Why did Sei have to be like this, so infuriatingly endearing? But it was clear that such happiness was forced, a lie, and that frustrated Yumi the most. "C – c – cut!" she cried. "Time out!"

But Sei didn't listen, her lips drawing ever closer. "Close your eyes, sweet vampire, and be quiet. You'll like this."

Yumi flinched and instinctively shut her eyelids, completely confused about what on earth was happening. Was this supposed to be a moment of romantic friendship, or a battle? Was this a life-or-death struggle, or a delightful reunion? For some reason, she couldn't stop crying angrily. "You… you were always like this, Sei-sama…" she whispered. "Just like that Christmas Eve… always avoiding your own pain by covering us with your kisses and snuggles."

Unable to turn away, she prepared herself, feeling Sei's hot breath against her lips.

"You've always been one to run away from everything. You're a coward, Sei-sama."

Sei's smile left her. "So you've finally figured me out," she murmured, her lips about to touch the vampire's.

There was a loud rumble of thunder, and her chest burst open in a hail of sharp ice, surging lightning and scorching fire. Her lace bra shredded at the elemental force, and her bleeding, naked torso was exposed to the cool air. In utter shock, Yumi instinctively screamed, unable to move even as the vines restraining her limbs slackened. The archvillain staggered back, her eyes utterly confused. "What… what…"

From behind the swooning Admiral, from the west end of Westminster Abbey, ran the freed Youko, tears pouring down her face as she fired spell after spell into Sei. Youko hadn't even bothered to dress properly, her bare feet pattering rapidly on the floor as she covered up with only her black cloak, her birch wand channelling the fatal elements into Sei's convulsing body. "I had it all wrong. We had it all wrong. We never needed to destroy the Countess. We couldn't. It was futile to kill her over and over again. All this time, it wasn't that illusion called Shiori we needed to kill, to end this accursed love. It was _YOU_!" she sobbed, her own words cutting into her own heart as it did into Yumi's. "You, a human being! The only one that needed to be brought to an end was the Satou bloodline. Your line, your family – you were the true dark horror all along! We never saw it, never _wanted_ to see it! I should have killed you long ago! You must be exterminated! And your lineage will end with you, Satou Sei!"

"Youko…" Her eyes wild with trauma and rage, Sei turned around furiously, blood spilling from her mouth. She teetered, barely able to stand.

"_YOOOOOUKO_!" she roared hatefully, pointing Forest of Thorns at the witch and pressing the trigger –

Another gunshot rang out in Westminster, and Sei reeled, her ravaged body pierced again by a metal bullet from Sachiko's own revolver, Vermillion. Joining her grande soeur, the Red Rose also ran at Sei, her teeth tightly clenched as she reunited with Yumi to end the curse of Sei and Shiori forever. "Chinensis sisters!" shrieked Youko, assuming command of the last remaining guild. "Avenge the Foetida and Gigantea! Together!"

Yumi shrieked as she yanked and pulled, her arms finally able to break free from the limp vines. She ripped away the vine clutching her neck and landed back on the floor. Unable to look, she attacked, closing her eyes tightly, and thrust her claws into Sei's already crushed, sizzling chest, her wrists trembling at the sickening impact. The warm contact with Sei's skin and flesh and bone was unbearable. Howling out a prayer for forgiveness, Rosa Chinensis ran ahead of Youko and dived forward. Just before she rolled past Sei, she cleaved her sword across the other's throat, and the amazed Admiral gurgled, blood spraying and soaking into Sachiko's flowing black hair. A final lightning spell from Youko shot into Sei's belly, punching through and leaving the traitor's midsection cleanly roasted from the inside. Nothing remained of the liver or kidneys.

Her grey eyes cloudy and her torso almost unrecognizable from the combined attack of the Chinensis guild, the onetime Gigantea heroine's hand slowly released Forest of Thorns as her legs slowly buckled and bent. She didn't make a sound. Her knees gradually descended to the floor, smashing against the ground, before her back slumped.

With Sei unable to offer any descendants, the cycle of love between the Satou family and the Countess was broken at last.

* * *

"Hold on, Sei-sama!" screamed the distraught Yumi, lowering herself to catch the falling body, stopping the Admiral from folding completely onto the ground. "Please… not like this… it wasn't supposed to end like this." She gritted her teeth, not even sure what she was saying. "If you surrender and promise to turn yourself in, I can heal you… it's not too late," she sputtered, cradling the madwoman tenderly.

Sei gurgled in laughter through her spilling blood as she slumped, allowing Yumi to rest her head on her lap. "Silly, silly Yumi-chan. You've been fighting me for the past half hour, and now you want to spare me? Don't you get it? Youko's right." She smiled up at the hole in the chapel's ceiling, enjoying a final glance at the morning sunlight. "I was dealt a shitty hand by a shitty God. I should have died long ago, but I guess Youko didn't want to believe that I, a human, had to be killed to end a vampiric curse. Don't you dare blame yourself for what you've done to me." For each breath, gore exploded from her mouth. She continued to smile as she held onto Yumi's hands tightly. Youko and Sachiko weren't so forgiving, and they stared at Sei furiously.

"Are you satisfied, Sei?" cried Youko, biting her lip. "_Are you satisfied_!"

The dying Admiral groaned in regret. "Youko… I'm so very sorry. And thank you. Thank you for _this_."

She turned her head weakly. "Ah… and… it's you."

Bats crashed through the ceiling of the chapel, gathering in front of the dying Sei and the trembling Yumi. The squealing creatures gradually reformed into the lithe form of Kubo Shiori, her original form, those silken green and silver robes draped around an otherwise naked body. Gone was her royal armor. "Shiori-sama!" shrieked Yumi, holding Sei's body tighter. "That means… Shimako-san and Noriko-chan lost?"

"Shimako-chan was triumphant. She earned a complete victory over me," interrupted the Countess quietly. Her voice was somehow different. Her eyes were no longer… unstable. "She had already defeated me several hours ago. It took me this long to simply reform my body." Her irises shone. "And now, the curse between Sei-sama and me is withering away. Dying."

Sachiko pointed her gun at the Countess, but stopped when her grande soeur shook her head. "No. She's telling the truth. Can't you tell? Her whole demeanor has changed," whispered Youko, putting a hand on Sachiko's shoulder. "No. This is as far as we need to go. Any more talk of vengeance is futile for us. They know they've lost. Look at her. The Countess is free of Sei's unnatural love. She has no reason to make a stand here."

Shiori gazed at the heartbroken Youko, and then at the rasping Sei. "Sei-sama." She took a step forward, a single tear slipping down her eternal face. "Is this the end of Kubo Shiori, good human? Is this the end of our shared insanity? Does our bond unravel with the end of your bloodline? Will you let me be free now, to take my place as a true queen for my undead race?"

"… Yeah. I guess. What can I say? I've lost." Sei grinned, mouthing a weak kiss at the Countess. "Goodbye, Shiori."

She looked up, barely managing a final, wry wink at the sobbing vampire holding her. Her eyelids then drooped, and fell, hiding those beautiful grey irises forever.

"Am I… still your idol… Yumi-chan?"

At those lonely, begging words, Yumi's raw heart shattered. Take away all her badges and power, and Sei was really so pathetic, so pitiful. It was as if she never had anything else except the admiration of others. Could Yumi have brought herself to deny this coward's plea? "Always. Forever and ever," gritted the undead in reassurance, pressing her cheek against Sei's hand.

The meager redemption of the mad Admiral's black heart came, perhaps, with her very last breath.

"I love you, Youko."

Deprived of everything, _despite_ everything, Youko began to cry, her low, guttural groan loudening and rising to a barely restrained screech, and Sachiko rushed to her grande soeur, embracing her tightly. Dropping her birch wand and clutching her damp face with her two clenched hands, the sorceress's tireless demeanor shattered. She wailed and bawled, livid and in love and fed up and exasperated with the girl called Satou Sei. The Henry VII Lady Chapel was completely destroyed. Somewhere on the streets of London, Rei's abandoned _katana_ lay on the ground, side-by-side with Yoshino's pistol and knife. The lone Noriko hadn't released her grande soeur's body before the Monument, cupping her face tenderly as she kissed Shimako's forehead in farewell. And at the epicenter of Westminster Abbey, the battered, weary Sachiko and Youko held each other behind a crying Yumi, who cradled the corpse of Sei in her arms, who had found peace at last. Nuzzling the former White Rose's serene face tenderly, she sniffled quietly amidst the ruins of the eastern wing.

The Countess, queen of all vampires, closed her eyes in sorrowful repentance.

Tokyo Lillian College was no more.

The Yamayurikai was no more.

And the First World War would make everyone forget what happened here.

* * *

_1962. Tokyo  
_

The guilds of Foetida and Gigantea were wiped out in 1903. Their records were erased from the British and Japanese historical archives, and Tokyo Lillian College was closed down to safeguard Japan's imperial interests. By 1945, less than half a century later, the Japanese Empire was defeated. The Allied defenses had broken its armies, and the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were pulverized into surrender by a weapon not even the vampire world could have foreseen.

The nuclear bomb.

With those mushroom clouds over the two cities fled the final vestiges of the old world, the era of magic and fantasy. This was the age of cold technology. Was there anything in the extinct undead universe that could match the split atom?

The cost had been dear to many nations. The Japanese Emperor, the only official Emperor in the modern world, still sat upon his Chrysanthemum Throne, but the age of glory was over, as it was for the once mighty British Empire. Great Britain was no longer so great, a mere shadow to its heir, the juggernaut of the United States. No one predicted that another nation, the ancient polity of China, could have survived the twentieth century's ravages. But it endured, and very soon in the future it would challenge mighty America to stake an age-old claim to world empire. History unfolded so coldly, so mercilessly, a struggle among the factions of old guard, the new daredevils, and the fortunate. Lillian College and its huntress guilds were nothing more than a hastily torn out footnote.

All Ogasawara Sachiko knew was that the mighty nations she once worked for – the mighty powers the three guilds of Tokyo Lillian College served – were unrecognizable to her. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was in tatters, evaporating into irrelevance along with the constitutional monarchies' hubristic ambitions. Along with humanity's need for the Chinensis, Foetida and Gigantea guilds.

Still, there was reason to rejoice, if only in her quiet house.

"It's good to be home, having survived our war against China and America. Here, in Japan, where we can pick up the pieces from our terrible loss with our own hands." Sachiko's wrinkled hands set down her teacup, a Japanese one as opposed to an English counterpart. "It's been sixty years and a new private girls' boarding school, named after Lillian, has been founded. Chinensis, Foetida, and Gigantea will become the crests of student leaders. They'll just be students, but they'll be called Roses, like we were. And they shall be shining examples to their soeur community, unlike us, who skulked about in the shadows spilling demonic blood."

The elderly woman sat on a wooden chair, her half-blind eyes still as dark as lustrous night. Her hair was no longer silken raven. It was a deep grey that sang of great dignity and bearing even as her walk turned into a limp, and her arms could hardly lift themselves high in the air, let alone wield Flower Stalk or Vermillion. Those two legendary weapons now lay in the seventy-eight-year old lady's room, gathering dust in the corner beside her bed. They were but worthless mementos of a bygone time, when even Kings and Emperors prized her power. Now she probably couldn't even sell those antiques for more than several thousand yen.

"If there is ever some resurrection of undead armies, there should be state-controlled organizations or private contractors to fight the vampires. Let the Roses live on as simple student leaders. A life of boring peace is underrated." She sipped at her cup, only to find that it was already empty.

"Oh," she noted quietly. "It seems I really have become duller. All of us… we're relics in a world of machine guns and nuclear reactors. What does it matter if our metal swords and bullets were blessed in some church? The enemies weren't vampires. The enemy was the one closest to us."

"Onee-sama. Shall I refill your tea?" came a gentle, light voice.

"Yes, Yumi. Indulge me. Let me reminisce about my old days with the soeurs a bit longer with the green tea. No more Earl Grey or Darjeeling for me. Produce from home is always the best."

From behind Sachiko's chair emerged an ever-youthful girl. She hadn't done her hair up in pigtails since the battles she fought in London. "My beautiful huntress," she said diffidently, "Your slave is here to obey your every whim."

"The whims of this rumpled old woman?" Sachiko snickered. Although her body was healthy, she was certainly feeling the difference that age and time forced upon her. The two were such good teachers. They taught of impermanence, a lesson that humankind was much too terrified and childish to learn.

"You're as beautiful as you were then, onee-sama," reassured Yumi. "You'll always be beautiful. I'll be your legacy, and I'll testify to Maria-sama on your behalf." She poured Sachiko her tea and kneeled before her, placing her hands on her lap. "I mean it," she said, looking into Sachiko's near-visionless eyes. "You're truly beautiful now. You have that which vampires can never have. My physical eternity is worthless compared to what you are now."

The former Rosa Chinensis smiled. "Thank you, darling."

Yumi lowered her head and placed her cheek in Sachiko's lap. She blinked slowly, her immortal memory as sharp as it was sixty years ago, when she fought alongside Yoshino, all the occasions she held Sachiko, when she was molested by the playful Sei, and when she toppled the Admiral at Westminster. Who would have known that the curse of the Countess ended not by killing Shiori, but by killing Sei?

"We… will never see Sei-sama again. Or all the other guild sisters."

"No. The time of the guilds is over. When I die, Chinensis as we know it will also come to an end. It is just as well. Ever since onee-sama passed away, I've felt more and more tired." She looked quizzically at Yumi. "Perhaps you wish to take on a soeur… turn on humanity and challenge the world with your power," she joked wryly.

Yumi blinked innocently, before grinning mischievously. "Let's rule the world together, onee-sama. Just like Sei-sama and Shiori-sama tried to do."

Smiling, the old woman once called Rosa Chinensis lightly dug her thumbnail into her forefinger, allowing a trickle of blood to slowly, slowly… slowly… fall onto Yumi's outstretched, waiting tongue.

"Perhaps it's too late for that. But you… you will _always_ rule over me, Yumi, until my very last breath."

Yumi felt her body melting at the delicious scent and taste of Sachiko's blood, as delicious as it was when she was a young girl. The old woman's dark eyes danced as she lovingly stroked the vampire's bangs, her eternal tresses. A hundred million memories came between them; from the moment they first met in that dark, rainy alleyway in London to their sitting together in this humble council unit, back here in Tokyo.

They had lived a most peculiar life together at Number 9, Lilyston Square. But it was a truly worthwhile one. The huntress had loved her prey, and the demon had loved the human. That was all that mattered, wasn't it? It had been a life worth dying for, perhaps even dying the second death for. Would the elderly Sachiko ever consider that? Would she prefer to die as a final sacrifice to Yumi's unending thirst, a footnote in the long list of human beings the latter would need to survive into the twenty-first century? Or perhaps Sachiko would consider that other unholy option – the one that neither soeur spoke of aloud. Perhaps Yumi could drink her blood where it mattered most. To infuse her with eternal but ever-tormented life through the delicious, pulsing jugular…

Yumi quivered as she continued to feel her onee-sama's blood dripping on her tongue and sliding down her chin. Perhaps now was the time to find out. Whether her mistress chose death – or a rebirth in death – Yumi would remain obedient to the last.

It was, after all, up to her.

"You have given me so much, dearest vampire. Taught me so much," whispered the elderly, former huntress. Her smile was so pleased, so fulfilled. She continued to look at Yumi, who was the center of her existence. "The least I can give back to you is my life. To let you know that I have no regrets. I was so happy. I _am_ so happy." She let out a hoarse exhalation. "Find a successor that pleases you, my love. Or not. Whatever you choose, be happy."

Yumi stared at her. Her heightened senses could feel her grande soeur's pulse suddenly slowing, slowing, and pumping to a halt. Her respiration was growing weaker by the heartbeat. The crickets outside chirped ignorantly as the despondent undead watched her life partner peacefully, yet swiftly passing away. The muscles around Yumi's face felt painful and cramped as she struggled to smile, to be brave. It had been a futile fantasy. Sachiko would never let Yumi bite her neck. Nor would Yumi let herself. That was why they had come so far to begin with. That was why they soared together. True human dignity was something Sachiko could never abandon. Yumi both respected and feared that. So all she could do was squeak, squeak out a desperate protest against the tragic beauty of a mortal life – of its triumphs, tragedies, sins, and ultimate impermanence.

"No. It was you who first gave me the gift of love. You owe me nothing; I owe you everything. Not now, onee-sama. Please, don't say goodbye," whispered Yumi hoarsely, her lips still damp with the former Red Rose's blood. She could feel her eyes watering as Sachiko's frail hand slackened and stopped stroking her face, her hair. Impossible: she couldn't do without this, she needed her touch. She would always need her caress. "Don't bid me farewell, lovely, precious human," she begged desperately.

Ogasawara Sachiko sighed in resigned contentment as her last breath escaped her lips. Her eyelids began to droop. Her relaxed back slumped down from the chair slightly. It was her petite soeur's entire fault! Yumi was so naughty, always sucking her dry like that and seducing her. Oh, well. It couldn't be helped. Not when it was dinnertime.

Yes, mealtime… sweet Yumi had just woken up. It was time for Sachiko to cut her fingers, to feed that greedy vampire before she went out hunting…

It was time to buy some novels for her. What might the naughty girl like to read?

The night was still young. She had to meet up with all the soeurs. With Sei-sama. With onee-sama and Eriko-sama. With Rei and Shimako, and Yoshino-chan and Noriko-chan too. It was time to go hunting. Why did she feel so sleepy?

"Are you… hungry… Yumi?"

The sun was shining through the wooden windows of the house. With the memories of Number 9 Lilyston Square, those wonderful, distant nights, and those joyful years spent together still vividly fresh in her broken heart, the kneeling Yumi sniffled and sobbed quietly in the dead woman's lap. Her hands clutched the fabric and skin that was dampening from the inconsolable vampire's undying tears.

* * *

_October 2011. Halloween._

_The world of the twenty-first century._

_A world of bullet trains cast against a cityscape of glimmering lights and skyscrapers._

_A world without the soeurs._

_A world in which a small, humble grave overlooks futuristic Tokyo on a green hill._

_And where a beautiful red rose is lovingly placed before the tombstone, every single year._

"You chose a perfect spot to bury her," says the eternal shadow behind Fukusawa Yumi.

It is late afternoon, and the crimson sky is darkening into a gentle shade of blue. She now wears a dark green skirt, with pleats and plaid shoes. Still crouching, she doesn't turn around at the voice, for she already knows whom her queen is. "Yes, Your Majesty. I never asked you where you scattered Sei-sama's ashes."

The shadow has long black hair, loving eyes, and a gentle, pious voice. "I must confess that I've forgotten. I barely remember how I took the form of Kubo Shiori. It has been so many decades since the London Blitz. Forgive me for my poor memory. After I helped the Russians push back the mad Austrian's armies, I knew I owed a terribly heavy debt to Sei-sama and the soeurs. But I believe she wanted to rest here in Tokyo."

The Countess of all night-kin pauses. "I recall one more thing. When Youko-sama left this world, I took the liberty of reuniting her with Sei-sama. Perhaps in the hereafter, they're enjoying the proper, truthful love that I denied them."

"That's wonderful. I trust you entombed Rei-sama with Yoshino-san, and Shimako-san with Noriko-chan. Everyone's gone except us, you the ancient Countess, and me the perpetually young and awkward addition. But I'll continue onee-sama's work, alone. For all these decades I've watched over humanity, just as she did." Yumi's eyes shine as she gazes at the rose she laid on top of the grave. "Both of us… we lost precious humans, their short lives sifting past our fingers like sand. They're like supernovae, scorching our undead world with their love and hatred and greed, then cruelly disappearing before we can even say goodbye. My queen, aren't they the real villains?"

The Countess smiles sadly. "Sachiko-sama's love for you was so much truer than the hateful obsession Sei-sama had for me. Only now am I sane again, freed from her bloodline." Tears well up in her eyes, tears of generations' worth of loving and being loved by the Satou family. "Yet I can't help, after more than a hundred years, but miss _her_."

Yumi smiles sadly as the Countess recovers herself. "Only now am I, a changed person, lucid enough to ask for your forgiveness. My lovely daughter. Can you forgive Kubo Shiori? Can you forgive your matriarch for what she did to your friends?"

"All is forgiven," whispers Yumi, her eyes listless as they wander unseeingly along the engraved name of _Ogasawara Sachiko_ on the tombstone. "I'm tired, living these next few centuries without onee-sama, or Sei-sama, or everyone else. I have no one to fight for, no one to be angry for. That's why… all is forgiven."

The two lonely vampires finally meet each other's eyes, nodding. Their bats flutter into the evening heavens, watching over anyone brave and gentle enough to love the night. For two fragile human beings once loved them, too.

"See you at Christmas, onee-sama," whispers Yumi, as she spreads her arms and soars into the early evening sky.

We watch her at a distance, a distance as solitary as the solitude in her immortal heart.

_Sleeping by herself among the constellations, the sweet vampire dreams of that homely fireplace in England, and those warm human arms around her on a Christmas night. She dreams and longs for her mistress's long, black hair and pale, fragrant skin. Her heart aches for suppertime under the gaze of those queenly eyes, and the elegant, comforting voice of the Red Rose._

_People are born and die, but a vampire's love is eternal._

* * *

**A YUMI x SACHIKO STORY**

**ROSE AND FANG**

**THE END**


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